Spain might have made a huge a mistake in recognizing “Palestine” as its own state.
Now, it’s like Spain was necessarily alone in that move, at least among European nations. The declaration of this recognition was joined by EU nations Ireland and Norway, and several others have followed suit since then.
However, the Spanish government has learned that, along with recognizing the Palestinian state, calling the Gaza War a “genocide” could have disastrous national consequences.
According to Spanish news website OK Diario, the Spanish government has been attempting to minimize the sweeping condemnations of government officials like Minister of Defense Margarita Robles, who said, “What is happening in Gaza is a real genocide.”
Calling Robles’ statement mere “personal opinions,” the Spanish government has come to the startling realization that, if they officially call the war a “genocide” against Palestinians, then they would be on the hook for harboring over 2 million Palestinian refugees.
OK Diario explained that reason for this potential obligation was thanks to Spain’s 2009 Asylum Law, as well as a 2020 Spanish Supreme Court case that ruled that anyone fleeing an “extermination” must be granted asylum.
Under those bylaws, if the Spanish government officially condemned Israel for “genocide,” then they would be forced to accept any and all Palestinian refugees that showed up on their doorstep.
Considering the havoc already wreaked by years of unchecked migration to the European continent, Spain probably does not want the further headache of potentially allowing in another couple of million immigrants, let alone any Hamas operatives hiding among the genuine refugees.
Indeed, though they have adopted the fashionably left-wing pro-Palestinian stance, Spain seems rather lukewarm in that stance thus far.
Should Spain rescind its previous statements on Palestinians?
Because, even though Spain has recognized the Palestinian state, they have been criticized for their refusal to set up an embassy in Ramallah, the administrative capital for the Palestinian authority, according to Israel Hayom.
After unilaterally recognizing a Palestinian state, Spain is telling officials to stop calling the war a genocide for fear of having to take Palestinian refugees & is refusing to move their embassy to Palestinian-controlled areas out of “safety and quality of life” concerns. https://t.co/x0Fg1qJM16 pic.twitter.com/IRBm7bwBM6
— AG (@AGHamilton29) June 5, 2024
While Ireland has at least remained consistent by setting up an embassy in Ramallah, Spanish diplomats said they preferred to stay in Israel due to “quality of life and security.”
Granted, Israel has threatened to close the Spanish consulate in Israel if Spain establishes diplomatic ties between Spain and Gaza, but clearly, Spain has found themselves between a rock and a hard place.
Today, I rejected @jmalbares‘s request to lift the restrictions imposed on the Spanish consulate in Jerusalem.
The State of Israel will not remain silent in the face of the Spanish government’s unilateral decision to recognize a Hamas-led Palestinian state @sanchezcastejon and…
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) May 31, 2024
Chanting “from the river to the sea” and declaring a country fighting a defensive war is committing “genocide” is easy from the comfort of a stable first world country.
But, when that stance forcibly obligates you to open your borders to potentially millions of unvetted refugees, then it becomes a much less defensible position.
Based on Spain’s asylum laws, how easy would it be for Hamas operatives to smuggle themselves into Europe disguised as refugees?
Even if you wear rosy, leftist-tinted glasses and think that Hamas wouldn’t do that, the sheer logistics of taking in millions of people is nightmarish for any country — let alone one already at maximum occupancy like Spain.
The Spanish government was right to recognize the practical difficulties and risks of calling the Gaza War a “genocide,” but it does make them seem like hypocrites on the world stage.
Perhaps they should have thought through the real world implications of recognizing the Palestinian state before they decided to join their peers in a virtue-signaling display of loyalty.
