Centre-left Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday alleged that social networks linked to Israel and Russia had spread disinformation about the July migrant crisis in the Spanish exclave of Ceuta. He said the alleged smear campaign, which he maintained had also been magnified by far-right networks, had been driven in part by Madrid's opposition to the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Russia and Israel both spread and amplified disinformation related to the mass entry of migrants into Spain's North African exclave of Ceuta last month, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Monday, citing research by the European Union's foreign policy body, the European External Action Service (EEAS).
"After July 30 and 31, there was a spread of rumours and disinformation, from social networks linked both to Russia and to Israel, and to an ultra-right international that always uses migration not only to attack Spain, but also to attack Europe and divide it," Sanchez told Cadena Ser radio.
Sanchez said it was "evident" that the two countries had used the crisis to criticise the Spanish government, as they were at odds with Madrid over its position on the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Read more‘We won’t go back’: Young Moroccan migrants in Ceuta refuse to abandon their European dream
The prime minister also ruled out any responsibility on the part of the Moroccan authorities in the sudden influx of migrants who arrived in the Spanish territory.
"No intelligence service with which the Spanish government normally cooperates sheds any doubt, or rather, suggests any doubt, about the involvement in one way or another of the Moroccan authorities," he said.
Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Monday snapped back at the Spanish PM, saying he was "lying shamelessly" about the accusations made against Israel.
"In his interview with Cadena SER today, he lied again, astonishingly accusing Israel of disseminating misleading information regarding the events in Ceuta. This is a brazen lie. Continuing to spread defamatory lies will not distract from Sanchez's disgraceful failure to manage his country's affairs," Saar wrote on X.
The vast majority of the roughly 70,000 people to have entered Ceuta have since been returned to Morocco, according to Spanish authorities.
Spain's left-wing government has said between 3,500 and 7,000 migrants remain in the territory, including unaccompanied minors. Ceuta's right-wing leaders allege it is at least 10,000.
Sanchez said on Monday that at the time of the influx, disinformation was being spread online – including by human trafficking groups. Incorrect statements included that migrants cannot be deported if they enter Ceuta by swimming – a claim that remains false.
"We are continuing to investigate" what happened, Sanchez said.
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters and AFP)
