Recently, Spain has continued to have diplomatic friction with Israel.

The Spanish Cycling Race 2025, which was held in Spain on 14 September, ended prematurely due to protests in support of Palestine.Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez praised the protesters, while Israel called Sanchez and the Spanish government ¡°shameful¡± to the country.

On the 15th, Sanchez further called for an Israeli ban on international sports competitions as long as Israel¡¯s ¡°barbaric behavior¡± in Gaza continues.

Earlier this month, Spain also announced an arms ban on Israel, canceling two arms contracts with a total value of nearly 1 billion euros.

Local time 15 September 2025 in Barcelona, Spain, local people march for solidarity with Palestine Map/Visual China

¡°Example of the international community¡±

Hundreds of thousands of protesters took part in the 14th rally, the Spanish government said 22 police officers were injured in clashes with protesters and two were arrested.

Demonstrators protest Israel-Premier Tech¡¯s participation in Spanish bicycle races, founded by Canadian billionaire Sylvan Adams, who migrated to Israel 10 years ago, registered in Israel and has a large number of Canadian managers and athletes.

Since the start of the race on August 23, several stages have been shortened due to demonstrations.After the early end of the final stage of the race and the award ceremony, protesters blocked all northern roads between the Prado Museum and the Western Palace, blocking police cars from passing with a fence between spectators and riders.

On September 14th, local time, demonstrators confronted Spanish police/foreign media

Sanchez said the demonstrators were ¡°a model for the international community.¡±15 on Friday, he further stated at a meeting of the Spanish left-wing Socialist Workers¡¯ Party (PSOE) that Spain¡¯s protests showed that a global ban on Israeli athletes should be considered.

¡°This has been the case in some countries: European governments have stated that as long as the barbarism continues, Israel cannot use any international platform to whiten its image. Sports organizations need to ask themselves whether it is ethical for Israel to continue to participate in international competitions.

Earlier, Spain also canceled its arms contract with Israel. In June this year, Spain halted the agreement with Israeli defense company Rafael; On September 8, the Spanish government announced a series of measures such as an arms ban on Israel and suspended another contract worth about 700 million euros. A report from the British Institute for International Strategic Studies shows that a Spanish consortium won the contract in October 2023, involving the purchase of 12 high-mobility rocket launcher systems developed by Israel's Elbit Systems.

The total amount of the two suspended arms deals amounted to one billion euros.Elbert and Rafael have not yet formally commented on the move, and the two governments have not yet publicly confirmed it.

Spain has also increased its support for Palestine, raising its humanitarian aid budget for Gaza in 2026 to 150 million euros, and increasing its assistance to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

Historical Factors and Domestic Political Atmosphere

Sanchez has the toughest attitude towards Israel among European leaders. At present, the center-left coalition government he leads includes the Spanish Workers' Socialist Party (PSOE) and the "United Left Platform" (SUMAR), and the left-wing parties have always expressed support for the Palestinian cause.

The picture shows Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez (data map/Xinhua News Agency)

Spain is historically closely related to the Arab world. According to Euronews, geographically, Spain is close to the Maghreb region of North Africa (including five Arab countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Mauritania and Libya). During the rule of dictator Franco from 1939 to 1975, Spain turned its sights to the Arab world to circumvent the reality of being isolated by the West.

Israel believes that Spain's position at that time was close to Nazi Germany, and it opposed its accession to the United Nations after World War II. It was not until 1986 that Israel formally established diplomatic relations with Spain.

In 1993, Spain played a role in the Oslo Accords between Palestine and Israel. The core of the agreement is mutual recognition between Palestine and Israel, which establishes the principle of "land for peace".

In 2014, under a conservative government, the Spanish parliament passed a resolution calling for the recognition of the Palestinian state, supported by all political parties. But the vote is not binding, and Spain has not taken any relevant action.

After a new round of conflict broke out in October 2023, Spain suspended all military exports to Israel and canceled existing Israeli ammunition import contracts. Spanish Social Rights Minister Ione Belarra also called for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to be tried in the International Criminal Court.

In May 2024, Spain officially recognized the State of Palestine, and Israel recalled its ambassador to Spain in the same month.In June, Spain sued the International Court of Justice in The Hague, the Netherlands, for Israel¡¯s ¡°genocide¡± in the Gaza Strip.

On September 8 this year, Sanchez publicly used "genocide" for the first time to describe the Israeli army's actions in Gaza, seeking to put pressure on Israel. This is the language that the Spanish government has been avoiding before.

A recent poll by the Royal El Canoe Institute of Thought showed that at least 82 percent of Spaniards believe that a genocide is happening in Gaza.

Sanchez acknowledged that, unlike the United States, Spain cannot determine the direction of the war in Gaza, and these measures have limited impact. But he believes that Spain can at least point the way forward. "We pushed for a UN resolution, to send humanitarian aid to Gaza, to stop arms sales to Israel, to push for recognition of the Palestinian state. We fought apathy and provided hope for the Palestinian people," he said.

Israeli Foreign Minister Sar said on September 8 that the Spanish government¡¯s measures were ¡°anti-Semitic¡± and that Sánchez sought to shift the public¡¯s attention to the corruption scandal of his party by blaming Israel.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also banned the entry of Spanish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labour and Social Economy, Diaz, and Spanish Minister of Youth and Children, Ricardo, on the grounds of "supporting sanctions against Israel".

Later on August 8, the Spanish government recalled its ambassador to Israel to protest, saying the Sanchez government's measures were "in accordance with the Spanish public opinion" and that Israel made "cruel accusations".