MADRID — Spain’s tough stance on Israel may have caused anger in Jerusalem but it has provided a popularity boost for under-pressure Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

The last two weeks have seen Sánchez’s left-wing coalition ramp up its criticism of Israel, triggering a diplomatic spat and a fierce war of words. Having become the most senior European leader to describe Israel’s actions as “genocide” in June, earlier this month the socialist prime minister announced a series of measures that included a weapons embargo and the banning of two Israeli government ministers from Spain. 

Israel responded by barring two of Sánchez’s ministers from entering the country while labelling the Spanish government as antisemitic.

Sánchez then praised pro-Palestinian protesters who repeatedly disrupted the Vuelta a España cycling race over the involvement of an Israeli team, culminating in the cancellation of the final stage and injuries to 22 police officers amid chaotic scenes in Madrid.

“Mr Sánchez and his communist ministers encouraged the violence,” said Gideon Sa’ar, the Israeli foreign minister.

Sánchez has since called for Israel to be barred from all major international sporting events, and public broadcaster RTVE has said Spain will not take part in the Eurovision Song Contest if Israel competes.

“I’m proud to be part of a government … that is making the world move,” said Óscar López, minister for digital transformation. Israel responded by saying Sánchez was “demonizing” the country and was “on the wrong side of history.”

Sánchez has been among Europe’s most outspoken critics of Israel over its response to the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas, while also slamming the EU’s failure to act. He expressed concerns about civilian deaths in Gaza directly to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in November of that year, and in 2024 his government acknowledged a Palestinian state.

Domestic concerns

At home, however, Sánchez has been reeling in recent months as his fragile minority government has faced a series of corruption probes and unfavorable headlines. An increasingly strident position on Gaza has provided a badly needed fillip.

“He’s at a critical juncture, the worst moment of his tenure, and he has managed to use this issue as a way of reconnecting with his voters and filling a political void,” said Lluís Orriols, a political scientist at Carlos III University.

In June, Sánchez was forced to apologize after the release of audio recordings featuring his party’s No. 3, Santos Cerdán, that appeared to implicate him in a vast kickbacks-for-contracts scheme. Another former senior Socialist and close Sánchez ally, José Luis Ábalos, who had been transport minister, had already been implicated, although he insists he became unwittingly involved in the alleged scheme. Both have been forced to leave the party; Cerdán is in preventive custody.

Meanwhile, a judge has been investigating Sánchez’s wife, Begoña Gómez, for alleged business irregularities, and his brother, David, is expected to go on trial for charges that include influence peddling. Attorney General Álvaro García Ortiz is due to face trial for revealing confidential information. All deny any wrongdoing.

The government has cast the cases implicating Sánchez’s family members and García Ortiz as politically motivated. However, the scandals have still dominated the political agenda, giving the impression that the prime minister could fall at any moment.

But now the focus has switched — to Gaza.

With 82 percent of Spaniards deeming Israel’s actions in Gaza to be genocide, according to the Royal Elcano Institute, a bold stance on the issue makes political sense for the government.

Orriols says the Palestinian question has traditionally been a banner issue for those to the left of Sánchez’s own Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE), such as Podemos and coalition partner Sumar.

“Pedro Sánchez is squeezing his rivals to his left. It’s something he’s been doing for years in a very efficient way — poaching the rhetoric or battles that previously belonged to other parties,” he said. 

“This can tighten the connection to his own voter base, while stealing electoral space from Sumar and Podemos. It could help the PSOE to cushion the damage caused by corruption and political inaction.”

The government’s dispute with Israel has also left the opposition looking flat-footed.

The leader of the conservative People’s Party (PP), Alberto Núñez Feijóo, aware that Spain’s right is traditionally more sympathetic to Israel than the left, has refused to use the word “genocide.”

However, with even King Felipe denouncing an “unbearable humanitarian crisis” in Gaza, the opposition leader has been forced to shift his position closer to that of Sánchez and to criticize Israel’s “massacre of civilians,” while denouncing the prime minister for using the conflict in the Middle East as a smokescreen.

“You don’t defend any noble cause, you just want to cover up your own disgraces,” Feijóo told Sánchez in a parliamentary debate.

Others in the PP have taken a more radical line. Isabel Díaz Ayuso, the hardline president of the Madrid region who is seen as a potential threat to Feijóo for the party leadership, has made a point of boldly supporting Israel.

She had her photograph taken with the Israel-Premier Tech cycling team at the center of the Vuelta turmoil, and her administration has reportedly attempted to pressure schools not to hang Palestinian flags.

As long as Gaza remains headline news in Spain, both Ayuso and Sánchez are likely to benefit.