Israel-Spain Disinformation Dispute Over Ceuta Crisis

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar on Monday strongly rejected accusations by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who claimed that Israel and Russia promoted disinformation related to the mass entry of migrants into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta last month. Sa'ar characterized the Spanish leader's statement as a deliberate falsehood.

"Prime Minister Sánchez is lying again without shame," he said. "In today's interview, he lied and astonishingly accused Israel of spreading misleading information regarding the events in Ceuta. This is an outright lie."

The Israeli foreign minister further criticized Sánchez, stating that "continuing to spread defamatory lies will not distract from Sánchez's embarrassing failure in his ability to manage his country's affairs."

Earlier on Monday, Sánchez had alleged that Israel and Russia promoted false information connected to the mass migration into Ceuta, a Spanish territory on the North African coast, which occurred last month. The Spanish prime minister accused both countries of exploiting the migration crisis to criticize his government, citing disputes over Spain's positions on the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Sánchez said he based his assertion on research conducted by the European Union's External Action Service (EEAS). "After the events that took place on July 30 and 31, there was a wave of rumors and disinformation on social networks, from accounts linked to Russia and Israel," he stated. "These countries disseminated and amplified disinformation related to the mass entry of migrants into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta last month."

The Spanish leader added that "it is clear that Israel and Russia exploited the crisis to attack us, as they have been in dispute with Madrid over our positions on the wars. The extreme right around the world uses the immigration issue not only to attack Spain, but also to harm Europe and divide it."