SPAIN and Israel have become embroiled in an escalating diplomatic row after an effigy of Benjamin Netanyahu was blown up during a festival on the Costa del Sol.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry summoned Spain’s chargé d’affaires for a formal reprimand after a seven-metre puppet of the Israeli prime minister was detonated in the town of El Burgo, near Malaga, on April 5.
The towering figure was packed with 14kg of gunpowder and obliterated as part of what local officials insist is a long-standing Easter ritual dating back decades.
“It’s a tradition that’s been carried on since the early 1900s,” said mayor Maria Dolorez Narvaez.
“People used to burn effigies symbolising all the bad things that happened during the year, and from that, the good is said to be reborn,” she added.
The giant puppet depicted a white-haired man in a suit, with a sign reading ‘genocida’ (‘genocidal’) pinned to its chest.
At its feet, a large black placard declared ‘no a la guerra’ (‘no to war’).
Footage from the scene shows crowds cheering as a series of explosions rip through the effigy, tearing it to shreds amid laughter and applause as the smoke clears to reveal a skeletal metal frame.
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Narvaez said the annual event has previously featured figures such as US president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin.
But this year’s display triggered a furious response from Israel, with the Foreign Ministry condemning what it called the ‘appalling anti-Semitic hatred on display,’ blaming it on ‘systemic incitement’ by the government of Pedro Sanchez, the Spanish prime minister.
Madrid pushed back hard, with a Spanish foreign ministry source telling Reuters the government was ‘committed to fighting anti-Semitism and any form of hate or discrimination’ and ‘totally rejects’ any claims suggesting otherwise.
The incident marks another sharp escalation in already strained Spain–Israel relations, which have deteriorated over successive Middle East conflicts.
Under Sanchez, Spain has been an outspoken critic of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, which has reportedly killed around 72,000 people since October 7, 2023.
Tensions deepened further during the US–Israeli campaign against Iran, with Spain refusing to allow US aircraft access to its Andalucian bases in Rota and Moron for operations.
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On March 10, relations hit another low after Spain recalled its ambassador from Tel Aviv, leaving only a chargé d’affaires in place.
Then on Friday, Benjamin Netanyahu ordered Spain’s representatives removed from the Gaza ceasefire coordination centre in Kiryat Gat after Madrid accused Israel of ‘indiscriminate bombings’ in Lebanon.
“The State of Israel will not remain silent in the face of those who attack us,” Netanyahu said in a video statement on X (formerly Twitter).
“Spain has slandered our heroes, Israel Defence Forces soldiers, the soldiers of the most moral army in the world,” he added.
On Thursday, Israel also criticised Spain for reopening its embassy in Tehran, accusing Madrid of aligning itself with what it called the ‘Iranian terror regime.’
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