Is Spain being punished for supporting Palestinians?

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Is Spain being punished for supporting Palestinians?
Migrants cross from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on July 30, 2026 (Antonio Sempere/AP)

In the months leading up to the crisis in Ceuta, pro-Israel voices conspicuously raised the issue of the enclave. A neocon proposed that Israel should “help Morocco [which supports Israel] reclaim” Ceuta… [Two articles below]

By Belén Fernández, reposted from Al-Jazeera, August 3, 2026

Earlier this week, at least 57 migrants died while trying to cross the border from Morocco into Ceuta, one of two Spanish enclaves located on the African mainland. In a span of just 24 hours, tens of thousands of people entered Ceuta in what Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez denounced as a “violation of territorial integrity”.

Many of the migrants interviewed in news reports claimed they had been encouraged to undertake the journey by social media posts.

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Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, wasted no time in taking to X to whine that “Spain, which never misses an opportunity to lecture Israel, has declared a state of emergency in Ceuta following the crisis over its immigration policy.”

Indeed, the Sanchez government has been increasingly critical of Israel, labeling it a “genocidal state” and cancelling major arms deals accordingly. In 2024, Spain recognised the State of Palestine.

Now, in the aftermath of the Ceuta episode, Israel – a country where hypocrisy might as well be declared an official state policy – has jumped at the chance to call the Spaniards out for alleged hypocritical behaviour. In his X post, Danon went on to argue that “maybe before [Spain] continues lecturing us, it’s time it explained to the world why it still maintains colonial enclaves in Africa.”

Of course, you can’t get much more hypocritical than complaining about “colonial enclaves” when your own country is perpetrating not only a straight-up genocide of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip but also a brutal colonial occupation that has given way to a de facto annexation of the West Bank.

Then again, Israel has never had a very good command of reason and logic, preferring instead to propagate an inverted reality according to which the Palestinians being slaughtered en masse are the terrorists and the people doing the slaughtering are the victims.

Along with the enclave of Melilla, Ceuta is claimed by Morocco. And unlike Spain, Morocco is in good relations with Israel. In 2020, the country joined the Abraham Accords, becoming the fourth Arab nation to normalise relations with the Israelis through this agreement.

In response to Danon’s tantrum on X, Spanish Transport Minister Oscar Puente wrote: “Well, everything is getting to be pretty clear” – presumably a reference to current speculations that Israel had a hand in the mass influx of migrants into Ceuta as punishment for Spain’s transgressions, which include opposition to genocide.

The speculation has been fueled by public statements by Israeli officials and by pro-Israel commentators. In an article published in March, former Pentagon official Michael Rubin opined that “Moroccans should gather, send bulldozers to the border, and then enter Ceuta and Melilla unarmed to raise the [Moroccan] flag.”

And in a dispatch for the Israeli Ynet News website, Amine Ayoub – a fellow at the neoconservative Middle East Forum – proposed that Israel should “help Morocco reclaim” Ceuta and Melilla. In Ayoub’s view, the timing for such an operation was particularly ripe on account of the fraught relationship between the US and Spain, with the Spanish government having been annoyingly uncooperative in the US-Israel war on Iran.

When the war was launched in late February, Spain denied the US use of its military bases. The following month, reports emerged that the US had suggested suspending Spain from NATO.

Noting that the Abraham Accords had introduced a “framework for reconfiguring Middle Eastern and North African alliances in ways that serve American and Israeli interests simultaneously,” Ayoub wagered that “helping Morocco recover Ceuta and Melilla would serve that framework and punish a NATO member that has repeatedly chosen obstruction over partnership at the alliance’s most critical juncture.”

In the very last sentence of his intervention, Ayoub arrived at the real reason for Israeli “help” to Morocco: “It is strategic investment in the partner that, across the Strait of Gibraltar, holds the key to one of the world’s most vital maritime chokepoints.”

Whether Israel is indeed involved in this week’s events in Ceuta remains to be seen. But it suffices to recall that the country has never exactly shied away from underhanded meddling in other people’s affairs.

For his part, US President Donald Trump utilised the “invasion” of Ceuta as proof of the Sanchez government’s incompetence – and as a warning of what will happen in the US if the Democrats are voted back into power: “It’s terrible. Remember that picture. That’s going to be us in three years if the wrong side gets in.”

Israel would no doubt have preferred a slightly different takeaway from the US leader – perhaps one claiming strategic Ceuta to be Moroccan territory. But apparently the urge to engage in xenophobic fearmongering took precedence in Trump’s brain this time around.

And as Israel continues bleating about Spain’s double standards and otherwise striving to shift the focus away from its own colonial atrocities and genocidal policy, it’s safe to say Israeli hypocrisy knows no borders.

Ceuta crisis sparks online speculation over Israel’s role in pressuring Spain

Reposted from The Middle East Monitor, July 31, 2026

Hundreds of migrants attempt to swim from Morocco to the Spanish city of Ceuta in North Africa, while the number of arrivals exceeded 1,500 in just over a week, according to local news, in Ceuta, Spain on July 31, 2026.
Hundreds of migrants attempt to swim from Morocco to the Spanish city of Ceuta in North Africa, while the number of arrivals exceeded 1,500 in just over a week, according to local news, in Ceuta, Spain on July 31, 2026. (Marcos Moreno – Anadolu Agency)

The emergency in Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta has sparked an intense online debate over Israel’s possible role in efforts to punish Madrid over its outspoken support for Palestine.

The speculation intensified after social media users resurfaced articles published earlier this year by pro-Israel analysts who argued that Israel and the US should aid Morocco over its claim to Ceuta and Melilla as a means of pressuring Spain.

Israeli sources revealed that in March, Michael Rubin, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, called on Morocco to organise a new “Green March” into the Spanish enclaves. Writing for the US-based Middle East Forum, Rubin suggested that Moroccans approach Ceuta and Melilla with bulldozers, cross into the territories unarmed and raise the Moroccan flag. He framed the proposal as a response to what he portrayed as Spain’s anti-colonial hypocrisy.

A separate article published by the Israeli outlet Ynet in April recommend that Israel could use its influence in Washington to help Morocco “recover” Ceuta and Melilla. The author, Middle East Forum fellow Amine Ayoub, presented support for Rabat’s territorial claim as a means of punishing Spain for challenging US and Israeli policies.

Ayoub proposed three ways for Israel to apply pressure: direct diplomatic signals to support Morocco, lobbying through Washington and repeatedly accusing Spain of hypocrisy over its recognition of Palestine. He concluded that helping Morocco “recover” Ceuta and Melilla would “punish” a NATO member which had challenged US and Israeli policies.

These earlier proposals have fuelled online debate over the latest crisis. Commentator Bruno Maçães drew attention to the April article, noting that pro-Israel analysts had urged Israel to help Morocco take control of Ceuta as a way of punishing Spain for its support for Palestine.

Social media users also shared a 2019 tweet by Yair Netenyahu the son of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu. “If the situation in Ceuta is the result of the “anti-Israel Spanish Left” why was Yair Netanyahu calling for Arabs and Muslims to “free Ceuta” in 2019?” asked a popular commentator on X sharing Netanyahu’s tweet calling for Muslims to take over Ceuta.

“This entire charade was orchestrated by Zionists to teach Spain a lesson and set an example for other nations if they don’t get in line.”

Details also emerged of Israel’s top diplomat in Spain, Dana Erlich, denying in April that the Israeli government was considering supporting Morocco’s claims over Ceuta and Melilla. She maintained that the matter was not among the Netanyahu government’s priorities.

The resurfacing of the articles coincided with thousands of people crossing from Morocco by land and sea, overwhelming the enclave’s reception system and prompting Spain to deploy police and military reinforcements. At least 19 bodies were recovered from the water as Spanish and Moroccan forces moved to halt further crossings.

These suspicions also drew heavily on a May 2021row, when around 8,000 people entered Ceuta after Moroccan border controls appeared to have been relaxed during a diplomatic dispute with Spain. Spain’s defence minister at the time accused Morocco of “blackmail”, while the influx was widely interpreted as retaliation for Madrid’s decision to provide medical treatment to Western Sahara’s Polisario Front leader, Brahim Ghali.

Morocco’s close military and intelligence relationship with Israel has added to the speculation. The two countries signed a defence agreement in 2021 covering intelligence cooperation, military procurement and defence industries. Israeli-made drones and other weapons have since become an increasingly important part of Morocco’s military modernisation.

Spain, meanwhile, has become one of Israel’s most vocal critics in Europe. Madrid recognised the State of Palestine in May 2024 and subsequently imposed an arms embargo on Israel, prohibited vessels carrying fuel for the Israeli military from using Spanish ports and barred aircraft transporting weapons to Israel from Spanish airspace. Israel denounced the measures as anti-Semitic, prompting Spain to recall its ambassador for consultations.

Belén Fernández has written for The New York Times, the London Review of Books blog, The Baffler, Current Affairs, and Middle East Eye, among numerous other publications.

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