Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has renewed his war of words with Israel, throwing his support behind FC Barcelona football star Lamine Yamal after he waved a Palestinian flag while celebrating the team’s league title win.
Sánchez said in a post on X that those who consider waving “the flag of a state” to be inciting hatred “have either lost their judgment or been blinded by their own ignominy.”
His comment follows criticism leveled at Yamal by Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, who said the player had chosen to “incite against Israel and foment hatred while our soldiers are fighting the terrorist organization Hamas.”
“I expect a great and respected club like FC Barcelona to distance itself from these statements and make it unequivocally clear that there is no place for incitement or for support of terrorism,” Katz said in a post on X.
Sánchez hit back by saying the teenager had “only expressed the solidarity with Palestine felt by millions of Spaniards. Another reason to be proud of him.”
The new spat follows last month’s bid by Spain and three other EU members to end the bloc’s association agreement with Israel, which was ultimately rejected by other foreign ministers.
Sánchez is the most vocal EU leader in condemning Israel, saying at a political rally in April that “a government that violates international law or the principles of the EU cannot be its partner.”
The 18-year-old Yamal is expected to be one of Spain’s key players during this summer’s FIFA World Cup in North America.
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