Spain permanently withdraws ambassador as rift with Israel deepens

MADRID: Spain permanently withdrew its ambassador to Israel on Tuesday as a diplomatic ​standoff worsened between the two countries over Spain’s opposition to the US-Israeli attacks on Iran.
The ambassador was summoned back to Spain last September amid a diplomatic row over Spanish measures banning aircraft and ships ‌carrying weapons ‌to Israel from ​its ‌ports ⁠or ​airspace due to ⁠Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, which Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar denounced as antisemitic.
On Tuesday, Spain published an announcement in its official gazette that the ambassador’s position had ⁠been terminated. Spain’s Foreign Ministry said ‌its embassy ‌in Tel Aviv will ​be led by ‌a charge d’affaires for the foreseeable ‌future.
The move marks the latest escalation in diplomatic relations between the two countries, which have been heavily strained since Israel ‌launched its assault on the Gaza Strip in October of ⁠2023.
Israel’s ⁠embassy in Spain is also run by a charge d’affaires after the country summoned its ambassador last May in protest at Spain’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state.
Tensions have heightened since the US-Israeli strikes on Iran, with Sa’ar accusing Spain in early March of “standing ​with tyrants” for ​opposing the war.