COPY LINK

For members

MIDDLE EAST CRISIS

IN DEPTH: Why does Spain support Palestine?

Spain has been at the forefront of international efforts to recognise Palestinian statehood. Where does this pro-Palestine position come from? And is support as clear cut among Spaniards as it is the government?

Published: 24 May 2024 10:57 CEST

IN DEPTH: Why does Spain support Palestine?

A protestor holds a sign reading "Freedom for Palestine" during a pro-Palestinian protest on the campus of the Complutense University of Madrid, on May 14, 2024. (Photo by Pierre-Philippe MARCOU / AFP)

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced recently that Spain is set to officially recognise Palestinian statehood on May 28th. Norway will also recognise Palestine, and Ireland has indicated it will do the same without specifying a date.

The move has been controversial, and caused Israel to recall its ambassadors in protest. This is not the first diplomatic flare-up born from Spain’s pro-Palestinian position in recent months, including, among others, Israeli embassy outrage over a Palestinian programme at Madrid’s Reina Sofía museum and Sánchez’s Gaza comments repeatedly angering Israel.

Spain has consistently been one of the most pro-Palestinian voices in Europe, if not the world. But why is this, exactly? What is it about Spain that makes its so pro-Palestinian? Is this a new position or a long-held one?

And is the Sánchez government reflective of the Spanish people more broadly?

The Sánchez government

Recognising the Palestinian state has become one of the flagship causes of the Sánchez government in recent months. Following Israel’s response to the October 7th terrorist attack by Hamas, many Western countries have faced criticism from the Arab world for being unwaveringly pro-Israel. Sánchez has tried to distance himself and Spain from this position, and taken a more humanitarian position.

According to Isaías Barreñada, a Middle East expert at the Complutense University of Madrid, Sánchez is hoping that his stance will have “a domino effect” on the rest of the EU nations. In this sense, one way to understand why Spain has been so vocally pro-Palestinian is because it hopes to spark change on the international stage.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) shakes hands with Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez next to Belgium’s Prime Minister Alexander De Croo during their meeting in 2023 in Jerusalem. (Photo by Borja Puig de la Bellacasa / LA MONCLOA / AFP) /

Alon Liel, a former Director General of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also views Spain’s position as potentially crucial to lasting change: “A Spanish recognition of Palestine at this stage can ignite the momentum that might lead to overall European and UN recognition.”

“Spain would become a meaningful player towards a new diplomatic momentum on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” Liel added in an article for the Real Instituto Elcano.

However, as always in politics (and particularly with Pedro Sánchez himself) there could also be some political calculations at play here. Firstly, in terms of his political profile on the global stage but also in terms of domestic politics.

Though Sánchez has personally long held a pro-Palestinian position and clearly cares deeply about the issue on a humanitarian level, it is unclear if the government’s position would have been quite so world-leading without internal political pressure from far-left coalition partner Sumar. Nor is it clear that the Spanish public is as pro-Palestinian as its government.

In an editorial for Catalan newspaper Ara, the naked politics of Sánchez’s pro-Palestine position are considered more cynically in terms of the Catalonia question and controversial amnesty bill: “For Sánchez, beyond conviction, the manoeuvre serves both to raise his international profile and to put the internal right-wing opposition to the agreement with the pro-independence movement on amnesty on the back burner.”

“Sánchez knows how to choose his enemies and moments well. He is putting himself at the forefront of Europe as the most critical of the ultra-nationalist Netanyahu and making his own turn of world public opinion, increasingly outraged by the death of innocent Palestinians.”

However, to be fair to Sánchez, for all those who accuse him of being a valueless Machiavellian who will say and do anything to cling onto power, on Palestine he has stayed consistent for almost a decade, as evidenced by this 2015 tweet: “We will recognise the Palestinian state when I am Prime Minister.”

Reconoceremos al Estado palestino cuando sea presidente del Gobierno. #ElCambioQueUne #Jaén pic.twitter.com/1Wh4LhzDdT

— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) November 22, 2015

History

But Spain’s pro-Palestinian position is nothing new. In fact, a look back into Spanish history and long-held Arabist positioning gives us an idea of why Spain would now be leading the call for statehood recognition in 2024.

Interestingly, it’s not an entirely clear cut political issue either. Whereas in many countries party affiliation pretty much defines position on Israel-Palestine, in Spain it’s not so clearly defined, historically speaking, at least.

The previous right-wing Partido Popular (PP) government of Mariano Rajoy in 2014 supported a parliamentary resolution calling for the recognition of the Palestinian state, though the vote was non-binding.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat (L) speaks with Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar (C) in Mallorca in 2000. Photo: CHRISTOPHE SIMON/ AFP.

But Spanish sympathy towards Palestine goes back much further than that and even pre-dates democracy. During the Franco regime, Spain forged closer ties to Palestine and developed a more Arabist position more generally. Alienated from the West, this was due largely to Franco’s desire to get Arab countries to support Spain’s entry into the UN and end its international pariah status.

In September 1979, following the transition to democracy, Prime Minister Adolfo Suárez was the first European leader to receive Yasser Arafat, the then President of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), at the Moncloa. It was not until 1986 that the nation established official relations with Israel.

Later Spanish leaders including José María Aznar and José Luis Zapatero (from both the right and left) also welcomed Palestinian leaders over the years.

Spain’s position with regards to Israel and Palestine (essentially recognising Israel but still backing the Palestinian cause) was one of the reasons the Madrid Peace Conference was held in the Spanish capital in 1991. According to El País, Palestinian authorities themselves actually proposed Madrid as the location for the meeting.

The Madrid Peace Conference laid the foundations for Oslo Accords in 1993, so Spain can fairly claim a significant role in peace talks as far back as thirty years ago.

Protesters hold a Spanish flag with the message ‘Israel you are not alone’ a week after Hamas’s October 7th attacks. Protests in support of Palestine rather than Israel have been far more common in Spain ever since. (Photo by LLUIS GENE / AFP)

Spanish population

Among the Spanish people, however, the issue seems to be more divisive than it is in the Spanish cabinet.

According to polling from La Sexta: 53.3 percent of Spaniards polled are in favour of recognising the Palestinian state, compared to 46.4 percent against. That is to say: the Spanish government is decidedly more pro-Palestinian (in terms of statehood, at least) than its people.

By party affiliation, practically all PSOE voters support Spain’s recognition of Palestine, with 93.8 percent in favour, as well as 70 percent of Sumar voters.

Among right-wing voters, 83.2 percent of PP voters are against it, as are 85.9 percent of Vox voters.

The majority of Spaniards (62.7 percent) consider Israel’s response to the Hamas attacks of October 7th to be disproportionate, compared to 35.2 percent who believe it is proportionate.

Member comments

Become a Member to leave a comment.

INTERVIEW: 'A lot of people think Brexit is done, but it's not for Brits in Europe'

In the early days of 2021, after the United Kingdom had left the EU and completed the final stage of Brexit, many British citizens returned to their home countries in Europe only to face a grilling at the border.

Though the Withdrawal Agreement (WA) technically guaranteed their right to live and work in the countries they’d settled in before Brexit, there was widespread confusion about these fundamental rights and many were treated like new arrivals.

Over time, the chaos at the airports subsided as border officials and airlines were given clearer guidance on the treatment of Brits. But three years later, a number of Brits who live on the continent still face problems when it comes to proving their post-Brexit rights.

This was the reason campaign group British in Europe decided to set up their new EU-funded ICE project. Starting this year in March, it aims to build valuable connections between UK citizens abroad and mentor the next generation of civil rights advocates around the continent. The acronym stands for ‘Inform, Empower, Connect’ and the project’s organisers describe it as “the first project of its kind”.

“It’s a completely innovative project – especially the fact that it’s across so many countries,” Jane Golding, chair of British in Europe and one of the project’s founders, told The Local.

Bringing together groups from 11 EU member states, the project aims to train up volunteers to understand both the Withdrawal Agreement and EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, as well as learning skills like advocacy and communication, using real-life civil rights cases that are referred to British in Europe.

“The ultimate goal is to amplify the messages across the wider group,” said Golding. “You start with the volunteers, they go back to their groups, then the people that we train, they go back and train people. Then they pass on that knowledge to the wider groups, on their Facebook accounts and through social media, and hopefully it all snowballs, not just in their countries but across the EU.”

‘Far-reaching repercussions’

So many years after Brexit, it’s hard to believe that there’s still a need for a project like ICE that empowers Brits to protect their rights. Indeed, the future of groups like British in Europe and regional groups like British in Germany and British in Spain felt uncertain just a year or two ago.

But Golding says there are still serious issues cropping up for Brits in several countries around Europe – they just have a different quality to the problems that arose at the start.

“In some ways it’s needed even more because as we predicted right at the beginning, at the first stage of implementation, you’ve got the more routine cases,” she explained.

“What we’re seeing now is not as many cases, but when the cases come up, they’re complex. They can have such far-reaching repercussions on people’s lives. And of course, memories start to fade. A lot of people think Brexit is already done, but it’s not.”

Volunteers in British in Europe ICE project

The volunteers of the British in Europe ICE project pose for a photo at the kick-off meeting in Brussels on May 21st, 2024. Photo courtesy of Jane Golding

Though the rights set out in the Withdrawal Agreement apply across the continent, different countries have taken different approaches to implementing them.

That means that while in Germany, for example, UK citizens simply had to declare that they lived in the country, people in neighbouring Denmark had to apply for their rights.

This led to a notorious situation in Denmark in which as many as 2,000 Brits were threatened with deportation after not applying in time or completing the right application process. According to Golding, this had a lot to do with the fact that people who arrived in 2020 weren’t given the same information as other UK migrants who arrived before.

In Sweden, meanwhile, the situation is still difficult for many Brits who lived there prior to Brexit.

“There have been issues with an anomalously high numbers of refusals compared to other countries, and they seem to be taking a very strict approach on late applications,” Golding explained.

Portugal has been another difficult case. Although the country opted for a declaratory system where Brits could simply exchange old residence documents for a new ID card after Brexit, reports suggest that the authorities have taken years to issue these cards, leaving many of the some 34,000 Brits in the country in limbo.

“While people are still waiting to have their status confirmed and have their card in their hand, it’s difficult to access a whole range of services, like health services, or applying for jobs or dealing with the authorities, or even going to the bank,” Golding said. “All of these problems just affect people’s lives.”

A French border guard checks a passport at the border

A French border guard checks a passport at the border. Photo by DENIS CHARLET / AFP

There are also concerns about the EU’s new exit and entry system (EES), due to come into force in October, which is based on biometric documentation.

“We still do not have clear data on how many people in declaratory countries like Germany, where it wasn’t compulsory to apply for the card, don’t actually have a card,” Golding said. “How is that going to play out if it’s a document-based digitalised system?”

A lack of support

In the immediate aftermath of Brexit, funding from the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) was still available to support NGOs in Europe helping Brits with their migration and civil rights issues. But that temporary funding soon expired, leaving groups like British in Europe largely on their own.

“The whole point is people’s lives change at very different paces,” Golding said. “And now this project is really going to start to pick up some of those cases and report on those issues, which is really crucial and exciting for the precedent that it sets, and it’s very clearly necessary still, because people don’t just sort their lives in the 18 months that the FCDO chose to supply that funding.”

This feeling of being left alone and increasingly isolated from the UK is one that many Brits in Europe have felt in the aftermath of Brexit. But the upcoming UK election on July 4th could be a game-changer.

This time, following a change in the law, Brits who have lived abroad for more than 15 years will be able to vote for the first time.

Polling station in the UK

A polling station in the UK. Photo by Elliott Stallion on Unsplash

When it comes to the election, the message from British in Europe is clear: “Make your voice count now, make your vote count, make sure you use it,” Golding said.

With the June 18th registration deadline fast approaching, BiE is advising UK citizens abroad to apply for a proxy vote as soon as possible, rather than relying on a postal vote from abroad. Since the 15-year rule was abolished on January 16th, more than 100,000 British citizens have registered to vote, according to official statistics. It is unclear how many were registered before the change in the law.

With an estimated 5.5 million Brits currently living abroad – 1.3 million of whom are in the EU – this could have a significant impact on the electoral landscape, Golding says. But most significantly, the change is creating a feeling of connection and belonging that wasn’t there before.

Nurturing this sense of belonging is one of the main goals of ICE.

With these bridges being built, British in Europe hopes to create a network of support that spans across borders.

“Now we’ve met. We’re going to meet,” said Golding. “We know we’re going to meet again in Berlin in October and then we’ll meet again in the new year in 2025 as well. It means a huge amount because even British in Europe, our steering team, we’ve only met physically three times.”

This opens up the possibility of people sharing their knowledge from country to country, Golding explained.

“There is crossover and the reassurance of having that EU wide view and knowing that you’re not alone and knowing that in this country, we managed to get this solution,” she said. “And then you can go back and say to the authorities in your country, well, in that country they did that – all of that helps. It’s really good.”

SHOW COMMENTS

Url copied to clipboard!