Migranten vor Ort: Spanien: Vorwürfe wegen Ceuta Richtung Russland und Israel

Energetic criticism has been directed towards Spain's leftist leader, Pedro Sánchez, accusing him of connections to Russia and Israel through social media networks. The Spanish Foreign Affairs Department (EEAS) informed the Spanish government about false rumors that escalated mass migration to the North African enclave of Ceuta at the end of July.

Sánchez alleged that Russia and Israel were not acting out of concern for migrants, but rather to attack Spain and Europe due to Spain's condemnation of Israel's "genocide" in Gaza and Russia's war against Ukraine. Sánchez also criticized a "right-wing extremist movement" that always exploits migration issues to attack Spain and Europe.

The accusations extend to Elon Musk, who posted a clip from the end times thriller "World War Z" on his platform X on July 31, suggesting that Sánchez could ruin Spain by attracting billions of poor people. Around 72,000 migrants from Morocco arrived in Ceuta by swimming or climbing over border fences between July 30 and 31, with most returning within hours.

However, approximately 5,000 migrants remained in the area, including 1,200 minors. Some local residents have become increasingly violent towards the presence of so many migrants. Sánchez's government is facing strong pressure. Russia has been accused of engaging in hybrid warfare against the West for years to destabilize democratic societies.

Hybrid warfare involves a combination of military, economic, intelligence, and propaganda methods, including the manipulation of public opinion through disinformation and state-sponsored cyber attacks. Russia had previously dismissed claims from other EU politicians that Russian-backed forces had fueled the situation in Ceuta. Another aspect of hybrid warfare is the targeted use of migration, as seen with Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania accusing Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko of bringing migrants from crisis regions to the EU's external border since 2021 to put pressure on the West.

Spain has accused Israel of "genocide" in Gaza and criticized the Israeli-American attacks on Iran as a breach of international law. Spain has also imposed sanctions against Israel and recognized Palestine as a state. Diplomatic tensions led to the recall of ambassadors from both countries. Israel's illegal occupation of the West Bank and the use of Gazan refugees as leverage have been additional points of contention.

Spain emphasized that the Spanish government could only act based on data and verified facts, noting that a judgment from the Supreme Court on July 8 was distorted in social media through false information, disinformation, and criminal organizations dealing in human trafficking. This false information claimed that the court had ruled that anyone swimming to Ceuta could not be deported.

However, this is false. Morocco has cooperated "immediately" and comprehensively with Spanish authorities in the crisis, but has refused to prevent thousands of migrants from reaching Ceuta since 2021.