Diplomacy & Geopolitics
Israel accuses Sanchez of Ceuta 'brazen lie'
Israel accused Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of a “brazen lie” over remarks linked to Ceuta, adding a diplomatic dispute to the crisis over the mass migrant influx into the Spanish enclave.
Sanchez said on August 31 that the late-July surge remained under investigation, but ruled out responsibility by Moroccan authorities. More than 70,000 migrants entered Ceuta on July 30 and 31, swimming or crossing on foot from neighbouring Morocco. The influx left scores dead and caused new political tension in Spain and the European Union over migration.
Sanchez told Cadena Ser radio that intelligence and police reports had not allowed the government to anticipate the scale of the crisis. He said no intelligence service that normally works with Spain had suggested Moroccan authorities were involved.
Some analysts have suggested the crisis may have been a message from Morocco over Western Sahara after a Sanchez visit to Algeria in July. Sanchez said the crisis could be resolved only through cooperation with Morocco, not distrust.
The vast majority of migrants returned to Morocco within hours, but thousands remain in Ceuta. Spain's left-wing government says between 3,500 and 7,000 migrants are still in the territory, while Ceuta's right-wing leaders allege the number is at least 10,000.
Sanchez said 6,000 places in reception centres would soon be available in Ceuta while Spanish authorities verify migrants' status before any possible return to Morocco. He also pledged an additional €168 million, or $195 million, in aid for Ceuta.
The issue has become a political flashpoint. Conservative and far-right parties have demanded that all those who entered, including minors, be returned to Morocco. The government says each person's status must be checked, and unaccompanied migrant children require special protection.
Sanchez also denounced misinformation that he said spread after a Spanish Supreme Court ruling that irregular migrants arriving by sea cannot be returned immediately. He said false online claims suggested that anyone entering Ceuta by swimming could not be deported to Morocco, and said rumours and misinformation were linked to Russia, Israel and what he called an ultra-right international.
Update
Israel accused Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of a "brazen lie" over remarks linked to Ceuta.
Source note: AFP news report published on 31 August 2026 at 12:21:48 UTC.
Update
Sanchez said Spanish intelligence and police reports did not allow the government to gauge the scale of the July 30-31 crisis in advance.
Sanchez said no intelligence service that normally cooperates with Spain had suggested Moroccan authorities were involved.
Sanchez said misinformation spread online after a Supreme Court ruling on returns, including claims that swimmers entering Ceuta could not be deported to Morocco.
Sanchez said rumours and misinformation were linked to Russia, Israel and what he called an ultra-right international.
Spain's government says between 3,500 and 7,000 migrants remain in Ceuta, while Ceuta's right-wing leaders allege the number is at least 10,000.
Sanchez said 6,000 reception centre spaces would soon be available in Ceuta.
Sanchez pledged an additional €168 million in aid for Ceuta.
Source note: AFP news report published on 31 August 2026 at 10:26:44 UTC.
Update
Pedro Sanchez ruled out responsibility by Moroccan authorities in the migrant surge into Ceuta.
Source note: AFP news report published on 31 August 2026 at 07:04:06 UTC.
Update
Pedro Sanchez said rumours and disinformation after the July 30 and 31 migrant surge spread through social networks linked to Russia, Israel and an international far right.
Sanchez made the comments to Cadena Ser radio on Monday.
Source note: AFP news report published on 31 August 2026 at 07:01:04 UTC.
Update
Spain's prime minister said an inquiry into the Ceuta migrant surge is continuing.
Spain's prime minister accused the far right of being behind what he called “fake” information.
Source note: AFP news report published on 31 August 2026 at 06:52:57 UTC.
Update
Spain's interior ministry said it asked the European Commission for support from the European Union Agency for Asylum and Frontex to help process asylum applications in Ceuta.
Foreign Minister Jose Luis Albares described the Ceuta and Melilla frontier as highly unequal and complex to manage and called for solidarity with the enclaves.
Source note: AFP news report published on 28 August 2026 at 19:28:51 UTC.
Update
Juan Vivas, head of Ceuta's local government, said peaceful protests to demand a return to normality were justified but warned authorities would act against vandalism.
Vivas said authorities rejected violence and that no one should take the law into their own hands.
The item says at least 60,000 people crossed into Ceuta over several days in July.
Source note: AFP news report published on 28 August 2026 at 12:00:03 UTC.
Update
Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska called for calm on Friday after clashes in Ceuta.
Grande-Marlaska said violence was not the way to resolve the migrant crisis in the enclave.
He accused right-wing and far-right parties of inciting hatred and confrontation in Ceuta.
The Spanish-language portion says the central government puts the number of migrants still in Ceuta at 5,000, while Ceuta authorities put it at 10,000.
It says the night from Thursday to Friday passed without incidents.
Source note: AFP news report published on 28 August 2026 at 10:17:22 UTC.
Update
Police charged protesters at a beach in Ceuta after demonstrators moved into an area where migrants have been sleeping.
Images broadcast on Spanish public television showed some belongings set on fire during the disturbances.
Dozens of protesters staged a sit-in that temporarily prevented Red Cross vehicles from reaching the beach to distribute food.
Police had fired tear gas late Wednesday to prevent confrontations between protesters and migrants camping on the beach.
Source note: AFP news report published on 27 August 2026 at 18:40:49 UTC.
Update
Spain's Interior Ministry said it would send additional personnel to help identify migrants in Ceuta.
Spain's government approved 25 million euros in additional funding to help care for unaccompanied minors.
Justice Minister Felix Bolanos appealed for calm and said authorities were working to restore normality.
Spain's Cabinet approved a single command for Ceuta led by Territorial Policy Minister Angel Victor Torres.
Opposition leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo criticised the government's handling of the crisis.
Source note: AFP news report published on 27 August 2026 at 13:51:41 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The specific Israeli official or body behind the accusation is not identified.
The exact Sanchez remarks that Israel was responding to are not quoted beyond their link to Ceuta.
Source
AFP news report published on .