Relations between the European Union and Israel took a nosedive on Monday, the eve of the diplomatic recognition of a Palestinian state by EU members Ireland and Spain, with Madrid insisting that sanctions should be considered against Israel for its continued deadly attacks in southern Gaza’s city of Rafah.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz told Spain that its consulate in Jerusalem will not be allowed to help Palestinians.

“The prosecutor of the court has been strongly intimidated and accused of antisemitism – as always when anybody, anyone does something that Netanyahu’s government does not like,” Borrell said. “The word antisemitic, it’s too heavy. It’s too important.”
“No one will force us to convert our religion or threaten our existence. Those who harm us, we will harm in return,” said Katz.
“In the face of those who want to divide us with any type of intimidating propaganda, the unity of Europeans is essential to send a very powerful message,” he said.
Also on Monday, Slovenia’s Prime Minister Robert Golob said his government will decide on the recognition of a Palestinian state on Thursday and forward its decision to parliament for final approval. Slovenia launched the recognition procedure earlier this month, and Golob has been under pressure to speed up the process since Spain, Norway and Ireland announced they would go ahead with recognition.
“From now on, I will never again say ‘Israel,’ (but) will say ‘Netanyahu government’ because it is this government who is taking these decisions,” Borrell said.
Even though the EU and its member nations have been steadfast in condemning the Hamas-led attack on October 7 in which militants stormed across the Gaza border into Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking some 250 hostage, the bloc has been equally critical of Israel’s ensuing offensive that has killed more than 36,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said such strikes will have long-standing repercussions. “Israel with this choice is spreading hatred, rooting hatred that will involve their children and grandchildren. I would have preferred another decision,″ he told SKY TG24.

The strikes came after the UN’s top court, the International Court of Justice, on Friday demanded that Israel immediately halt its offensive on Rafah, even if it stopped short of ordering a ceasefire for the Gaza enclave.
Albares criticised the treatment of the European ambassadors in Israel. “We reject something that is not within diplomatic courtesy and the customs of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations,” he said.
“But at the same time we have also agreed that we are not going to fall for any provocation that distances us from our goal,” he added. “Our aim is to recognise the state of Palestine tomorrow, make all possible efforts to achieve a permanent ceasefire as soon as possible and also, in the end, to achieve that definitive peace.”