Spain PM: Israel’s Gaza flotilla seizure in international waters ‘illegal’

Boats carrying activists and humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza reposition in the port during a symbolic send-off as part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, in Barcelona on April 12. (AP)

• Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez says Israel is "once again violating international law by attacking a civilian flotilla in waters that do not belong to it"
• Madrid summoned Israel’s charge d’affaires in Spain to convey its protest over the detention of the boats

MADRID: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Thursday said Israel's interception of about 20 boats from a Gaza-bound aid flotilla was illegal, after about 175 pro-Palestinian activists, including Spaniards, were arrested.
"Israel is once again violating international law by attacking a civilian flotilla in waters that do not belong to it," he wrote on X, urging the EU to freeze bilateral ties immediately and for maritime law to be respected.
Spain earlier condemned the seizure of the Global Sumud Flotilla vessels in international waters off Greece.
Madrid summoned Israel’s charge d’affaires in Spain to convey its protest over the detention of the boats, the foreign ministry added in a statement.
Spanish diplomatic staff in Israel are in contact with the organizers of the flotilla and Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares has spoken with his counterparts who also have nationals on board, the statement said.
The latest flotilla of pro-Palestinian activists seeking to break Israel’s blockade on Gaza set sail in recent weeks from Marseille in France, Barcelona in Spain and Syracuse in Italy.
Organizers announced early on Thursday that their boats had been surrounded by Israeli military ships while off the coast of Crete.
Ties between Israel and Spain have nosedived since the Gaza war sparked by the October 2023 Hamas cross-border attacks, with Israel angered by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s unrelenting criticism of its bombardment of the Palestinian territory.
Spain’s Socialist leader has also opposed the US-Israeli war with Iran, drawing a sharp Israeli reaction.
Earlier this month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu barred Madrid from joining the work of a US-led center to stabilize post-war Gaza, accusing Spain of waging a diplomatic campaign against Israel.
Both countries have withdrawn their ambassadors.