Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez denounced the EU on double standards, noting that the bloc had imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia on the Ukrainian conflict, but failed to take similar actions against Israel due to the war in Gaza.
Sanchez spoke to reporters on Thursday and said he would propose to suspend the EU trade deal with Israel. In Israel, Article 2 designates human rights as an “essential element” of the agreement.
He said UN reports have issued warnings about the “devastating situation” in Gaza, where more than 56,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023.
“It makes no sense at all to impose 18 rounds of sanctions on Russia for an attack on Ukraine, but the EU was unable to suspend the association’s agreement with Israel, despite its violating Article 2 on human rights, by double standards,” Sanchez said.
The Israeli Embassy in Madrid has accused Sanchez of making comments “morally vulnerable” and accused him of “establishing an anti-Israel crusade.”