Spain’s prime minister blames Israel, Russia for disinformation around Ceuta border crisis

JTA – Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said on Monday that Israel and Russia spread disinformation about Spain’s migration policy after a rush of migrants arrived in Ceuta, a Spanish exclave in North Africa. 

More than 72 000 migrants crossed into Ceuta between 30 and 31 July, with at least 100 people dying in the attempt, according to local authorities. Sánchez, along with Morocco’s Interior Ministry, have blamed the surge on human-trafficking networks that exploited misinterpretations of a change in Spain’s border policy. 

In Sánchez’s first interview since the border crisis, he also said that Israel and Russia organised internet campaigns to undermine Spain’s government during the chaotic aftermath. Online theories proliferated widely after the Ceuta crossings, including some that said Israel orchestrated the crisis. 

“After 30th and 31st July, there was an expansion of these hoaxes and this disinformation by social networks associated with both Russia and Israel, and with an international far-right movement that always uses migration, not only to attack Spain, but also to attack Europe and divide it,” Sánchez said in an interview with the Spanish radio network Cadena SER. 

He said research from the European Union (EU) European External Action Service (EEAS) showed that Israel and Russia were behind disinformation campaigns, without giving further details on the evidence. 

An EU spokesperson told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, “In the case of Ceuta, we saw attempts by Russia to exploit the crisis online. However, we have no conclusive evidence to suggest that the crisis itself was triggered by disinformation from foreign state actors.” 

The spokesperson didn’t specifically address Sánchez’s claim that Israel spread disinformation. They noted that the EEAS shares research with member states “when their interests are affected”. 

Sánchez said that it was “evident” that Israel and Russia were motivated by Spain’s political positions “regarding the genocide in Gaza and Putin’s invasion of Ukraine”. He is among Europe’s most vocal critics of Israel’s conduct in Gaza and Iran. 

Israeli Foreign ‌Minister Gideon ⁠Sa’ar said on Monday that Sánchez was “lying shamelessly”, adding that the statements “will not distract from Sánchez’s disgraceful failure to manage his country’s affairs”. 

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also told Russian state broadcaster RBC that Russia had no involvement in the migrant crisis or disinformation campaigns. 

Spanish-Israeli diplomatic ties, first established in 1986, have deteriorated since the start of the Gaza war in 2023, with Madrid since recognising Palestine as a state and banning ships carrying arms to Israel from docking in its ports. By 2026, both countries had recalled their ambassadors.