1/ The First Minister of Madrid, Ayuso (PP), was criticised for using the 40 beheaded babies at the kibbutz against the Sánchez government, whom she said was “equidistant between terrorists and victims”.
2/ It’s not clear this morning how true that story is. The official Israel account retweeted it with “40 babies murdered”, the Anadolu news agency in Turkey said an IDF spokesman had been unable to confirm it to them over the phone, but who exactly did they speak to (and would they know)? And there’s a French journalist here who says it is real, “100% confimed”, that she has seen the photos and that other reporters have seen the bodies.
3/ “Spain counts less in the world”, writes ABC today, noting that we’re not on the list of countries that have signed the new joint Western declaration in support of Israel: “Either Biden didn’t think it worth his time to count on the Spanish government or if he did, which we don’t know, Spain declined to sign. In either of the two cases, the consequence is worrying”.
4/ El Mundo thinks Europe needs to get its act together and “speak with one voice to be credible” on the crisis, comparing the cross statements and u-turns to the lack of unity over Ukraine or what to do about the Covid pandemic.
5/ The chairman of the Federation of Jewish Communities in Spain has said in a radio interview that they perceive a “frightening” rise in antisemitism in Spain, mostly coming from the far-left.
6/ For several days in a row now, El País has thought the conflict and political reactions at home or in Europe unworthy of an editorial, choosing to write instead today about Ecuador and the IMF.
7/ The Objetive reports that United Left MEP Manu Pineda, who took part in the pro-Palestinian demonstration in Madrid on Monday evening, had his photo taken with armed Palestinian terrorists during a visit to Gaza, and even met Hamas leader Ismail Haniye.
8/ The PP has tabled a request in parliament for a joint declaration to condemn the Hamas attack from Spain’s lower house.
9/ First reports this morning suggest the Speaker’s committee (5-4 left-wing majority) has rejected or is stonewalling the request.
9/ In national politics today, Sánchez has spoken to Junqueras on the phone. Unsurprisingly, they reportedly agree on the need to agree and reappoint Sánchez PM. Separatists are now treating the amnesty pretty much as a done deal.
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While there have been atrocities commited on both sides throughout the sorry period since the Balfour Declaration, there is plenty of information available that suggests that Israel and the USA funded and encouraged the creation and propgation of Hamas because at the time, their presence on the political scene in Palestine was a way to reduce the power of Yasir Arafat and his party, the PLA. this is all well documented. There are also many comments "on the ground" from Israel, including from members of the security forces, suggesting that, given that Israel has the most sophisticated intelligence service in the world, it is impossible to believe that Israel knew nothing about this threat. Apparently their Egyptian neighbours repeatdely warned that something was "in the offing", much like the US government was warned about 9/11 before it happened. I´m not going to cast aspersions as to why the Israeli government and intelligence services failed to respond for such a duration after the attacks became knowledge, however in my humble opinion, there is much more to this than meets the eye. For the sake of innocent people on both sides, I hope that this does not escalate into a situation where there is more death and destruction and a possible threat to a much wider geographical area, however, sadly, I think that is exactly what might happen.