Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's extended summer vacation — the one he began shortly after the Ceuta migrant crisis began — is finally over. On Aug. 31, the prime minister broke his month-long public silence on Ceuta in a radio interview on Cadena SER that demonstrated he hasn’t missed a beat when it comes to the go-to move in his political playbook: blaming Israel.
Sánchez first addressed the criticism he's received for not canceling his beach trip to Lanzarote as the invasion by more than 70,000 illegal migrants from Morocco into Spain's enclave in North Africa was unfolding, saying he has the "right to rest" and assuring Spaniards that he is "24/7 aware" of what happens in Spain. So he's clearly aware of the Sigma Dos poll showing that 82.2%, including 56.9% of supporters of his own Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE), believe his government “has not done enough” about the crisis, which has resulted in a huge spike in crime, including at least 23 sexual assaults. And that's not all. The poll also found that 90.4% believe Morocco was behind the migrant influx, and 59.7% believe it allowed Morocco to “pressure and blackmail” Spain.
In the interview, Sánchez came down strong on the side of... Morocco, the country whose justice minister said after the border breach that the Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla are "occupied" territories. “There’s no information from any intelligence agency that raises doubts over the involvement of Moroccan authorities,” Sánchez said. “Cooperation with Morocco is frankly positive. I’d like to stress that we need to be aware that this crisis can be resolved only through cooperation — and not through a lack of trust in Morocco, which would only further aggravate the already complex situation we have in Ceuta.”
Sánchez's approving words toward Spain's African neighbor stand in stark contrast to much of the reporting on the crisis and to remarks from other Spanish leaders. Euronews reported on Aug. 3, "according to reports from the area, Moroccan security forces initially allowed large crowds to advance towards the border unhindered, raising questions about how thousands of people from Casablanca, Rabat, Tangier and Marrakech were able to travel north without the closure of access routes." El País noted on Aug. 14 that "Moroccan police stood by and let people through, according to migrant accounts."
Reports like these are why Juan Jesús Vivas, the president of Ceuta, said that the invasion was “if not orchestrated, at least encouraged or permitted by Morocco." Conservative Vox party leader Santiago Abascal has pinned at the top of his X account, "What happened in Ceuta has been an INVASION and an ACT OF WAR promoted by Morocco and allowed by Sánchez, who is incapable of responding because he is subservient to Morocco." Even Sánchez's own defense minister, Margarita Robles, said Morocco had to investigate the breach “to the end” and that whoever “consented to or tolerated” it must be brought to justice.
Related: Spanish Leftists' Push to Replace 'Right-Wingers and Racists' With Migrants: Is It Full Speed Ahead?
Sánchez also used the interview to attempt to shift the blame away from himself, saying that while the National Intelligence Center (CNI) — Spain's version of the CIA — "shared situation reports" in the days leading up to the invasion, "there was no information warning of the severity of the crisis.”
Whom to believe? News reports, political leaders on the ground in Ceuta, the illegal migrants themselves, or the corrupt prime minister who, along with his party and family, is caught up in scandals? One sure sign that someone doesn't have the facts on his side is when he decides to blame Israel for something completely out of the blue.
Channeling Tucker Carlson — who has claimed that Israel and the U.S. were behind the invasion of Ceuta — Sánchez managed to say with a straight face, "What we also know is that after July 30 and 31, there was a spread of those hoaxes and that disinformation by social-media networks associated with both Russia and Israel, as well as with an international far-right movement." Hoaxes like, apparently, the video report by "far-right" independent journalist Nick Shirley, who traveled to Ceuta and documented the migrants' affection for Sánchez and his mass-amnesty plan. Or disinformation like an Aug. 31 report in El País that notes this about the Ceuta border breach (AI-assisted translation): "The passivity of the Moroccan Gendarmerie for more than 24 hours and images of officers allowing vehicles to pass point, according to intelligence sources, to the involvement of ‘higher authorities.’"
Israel is used to facing Sánchez's calumny. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on X in 2025: “Spanish PM Sanchez said yesterday that Spain can’t stop Israel’s battle against Hamas terrorists because ‘Spain does not have nuclear weapons.’ That’s a blatant genocidal threat to the world’s only Jewish State.”
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Monday responded just as forcefully to Sánchez, writing on X that the prime minister lied "shamelessly” in his radio interview. He continued: “Continuing to spread defamatory lies will not distract from Sánchez’s disgraceful failure to manage his country’s affairs.”
Vox's Abascal often accuses Sánchez of being a liar who makes “deals with the enemies of democracy.” On Monday, El Constitutional reports that Abascal called Sánchez “'Morocco's lackey,' accused him of acting at the service of Mohamed VI and demanded the support of the Popular Party so that he can be tried for 'treason' due to his management of the Ceuta crisis."
If that ever happens, it will be interesting to see how Sánchez manages to blame Israel in his defense.
Editor’s Note: We voted for mass deportations, not mass amnesty. Help us continue to fight back against those trying to go against the will of the American people.
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