Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez Says EU Has Failed to Stop Israel’s War in Gaza

Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez Says EU Has Failed to Stop Israel’s War in Gaza

[Madrid | July 10, 2025]

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has strongly criticized the European Union, accusing it of failing to take effective action to stop what he described as Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. He clearly stated that Israel is using war and starvation as weapons to destroy a legitimate state — actions that are fundamentally against European values.

In a speech delivered on Wednesday in the Spanish Parliament, Sánchez said:

“Anyone who violates the founding principles of the European Union — or who uses hunger and war to destroy a legitimate state — cannot be a partner of the European Union.”

He further added:

“The actions of Netanyahu’s government will be recorded in history as one of the darkest chapters of the 21st century.”

Sánchez’s speech highlighted the harsh reality of the war in Gaza — the cries of children under rubble, people dying of hunger in tents, and a dire humanitarian catastrophe. He emphasized that expressing sympathy or shame is not enough — the international community, especially Europe, must now take effective action.

He also revealed that in February 2024, Spain and Ireland had urged the European Commission to assess whether Israel was upholding the human rights conditions outlined in the EU-Israel Association Agreement. Following that request, on June 23, 2025, a special representative of the European Union submitted a report that found “substantial evidence” of Israel’s human rights violations.

According to the report, Israel has violated Article 2 of the Association Agreement, which states that respect for human rights is a fundamental condition of the agreement.

Although the European Union has yet to take any formal action against Israel, Sánchez said that Spain is pushing strongly for the immediate suspension of the agreement.

In a striking conclusion, Sánchez compared the actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:

“Everything we condemn about Putin’s actions in Ukraine — Netanyahu is doing the same in Palestine. We cannot accept this.”

Since the outbreak of war in Gaza in October 2023, over 57,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks, and much of the Gaza Strip has become uninhabitable.

In this context, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s remarks may spark new debates in Europe’s political and diplomatic arenas.