Spanish PM sparks uproar after hinting nuclear arsenal could stop Israel’s war on Hamas

Antisemitism watchdog group accuses Spanish premier of incitement to genocide after he lamented that his country lacked nuclear weapons and is thus unable to “pursue the perpetrators” of the war in Gaza.

By World Israel News Staff

Spain’s prime minister lamented this week his country’s lack of a nuclear arsenal and a large aircraft carrier fleet, suggesting that were Spain able to, it would use military force to intervene against Israel in the war in Gaza.

On Thursday, Spanish media outlets published comments made by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez during a press conference on Monday, when he announced a sweeping arms embargo on Israel along with restrictions on trade.

In the comments published on Thursday, Sanchez suggested he would use military force to prevent Israel from continuing its war in the Gaza Strip, blaming Spain’s limited military capacity and lack of nuclear weapons for the limited measures taken against Israel.

In comments not initially published widely, Sanchez accused Israel of committing “genocide” in the Gaza Strip and said Spain’s ability to intervene on behalf of the Palestinians against Israel was constrained by its operational limitations.

Spain, said Sanchez, is doing what it can to “stop the genocide in Gaza, pursue its perpetrators, and support the Palestinian population.”

However, he added that “Spain, as you know, doesn’t have nuclear bombs, nor aircraft carriers, nor large oil reserves.”

“We alone can’t stop the Israeli offensive. But that doesn’t mean we won’t stop trying, because there are causes that are worth fighting for, even if winning them isn’t in our sole power,” he said.

The comments drew sharp criticism both in Spain and abroad, with critics calling it a thinly veiled threat to attack Israel.

Santiago Abascal, chief of the right-wing Vox party, said that Sanchez “would like to have nuclear weapons…but not to defend Spain. To defend Hamas.”

A spokesman for the Popular Party wondered openly whether Sanchez plans to drop “a nuclear bomb on Tel Aviv. Is that what he intends to do?”

On Thursday, the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) blasted Sanchez over the comments and called for an investigation to probe whether the remarks constituted incitement to genocide against Israelis.

“These disgusting and inflammatory comments have violently ripped off the mask of Prime Minister Sanchez, who claims to be acting on behalf of humanitarian intentions when his secret desire appears to be militarily attacking Israel, even with the use of weapons of mass destruction,” CAM CEO Sacha Roytman Dratwa said.

“PM Sanchez now joins an unenviable club of those who have wistfully aspired to use nuclear weapons against Israel, which includes Palestinian Authority senior official Jibril Rajoub, who said that ‘if we had nuclear weapons, we’d be using them,’ and a former Iranian president who said, ‘Israel is a one-bomb country.’”

“These comments are nothing short of an aspiration to genocide and will be used as a dog whistle to extremists around the region who dream of the absolute destruction of Israel, using any means possible,” Dratwa said. “Prime Minister Sánchez needs to immediately take back these murderous words, apologize unreservedly and pray that his words will not inspire further bloodshed, or international legal courts and authorities should explore charging him with incitement to genocide.”