Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Wednesday referred to Israel as a “genocidal state” and asserted that Spain “does not do business” with it.
Speaking during a parliamentary Q&A session in Madrid, Sánchez was responding to criticism from Gabriel Rufián, a Catalan MP, who accused the Socialist prime minister of maintaining commercial relations with Israel amid the ongoing war in Gaza.

“I want to make one thing clear here, Mr. Rufián. We do not do business with a genocidal state, we do not,” Sánchez emphasised.He went on to say, “I believe that the other day, from this platform, I explained precisely what we were talking about when some things were mentioned that do not correspond to the truth.”

According to Spanish media, this marks the first time Sánchez has publicly used the term “genocidal state” to describe Israel — a phrase frequently employed by far-left political groups in Spain in reference to Israel’s conduct in Gaza.
Following Sánchez’s remarks, Israel’s Foreign Ministry summoned the Spanish ambassador for a “reprimand meeting.”