This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez gives a speech in the Spanish capital Madrid on March 04, 2026. [Burak Akbulut – Anadolu Agency]
The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on Wednesday welcomed the Spanish government’s decision to withdraw its ambassador from Israel and reduce its diplomatic representation.
In a statement received by Quds Press, the movement said the step continues what it described as the honourable positions of the Spanish government and people in rejecting what is happening in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas said the decision reflects opposition to what it called the genocide faced by the Palestinian people in Gaza, as well as rejection of Israeli violations of international law. It described the move as a noble position that shows a genuine commitment to humanitarian values.
The movement praised what it called Spain’s “courageous” stance and urged other countries to take similar measures, including cutting various forms of relations with Israel.
It also called for international pressure on Tel Aviv to stop what it described as ongoing crimes and attacks against Palestinians, as well as assaults that it said affect other peoples in the region.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.Donald Trump explains why he established his Bored of PeaceOrcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
Guests including Mark Zuckerberg, Lauren Sanchez, Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai, and Elon Musk attend the Inauguration of Donald J. Trump in the US Capitol Rotunda on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Julia Demaree Nikhinson – Pool/Getty Images)
“These platforms are attacking the mental health, dignity, and rights of our sons and daughters,” said the Spanish president. “The state cannot allow it. The impunity of the giants must end.”
Big Tech firms are coming under greater scrutiny for the proliferation of child sexual abuse material generated by artificial intelligence-powered chatbots on their social media platforms.
Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) announced on Tuesday that it was invoking the European Union’s data privacy regulations to open an investigation into Grok, the AI chatbot featured on Elon Musk’s X platform, after it was used to generate nonconsensual deepfake images, including sexualized images of children.
In announcing the investigation, DPC Deputy Commissioner Graham Doyle said that the commission has been in contact with X for weeks after reports first emerged of Grok being used to generate child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
Doyle said DPC has since decided to launch “a large-scale inquiry which will examine [X’s] compliance with some of their fundamental obligations” under European privacy laws.
Spanish President Pedro Sánchez said on Tuesday that his government would ask Spain’s Public Prosecution Service to “investigate the crimes that X, Meta, and TikTok may be committing through the creation and dissemination of child pornography by means of their AI.”
“These platforms are attacking the mental health, dignity, and rights of our sons and daughters,” Sánchez emphasized. “The state cannot allow it. The impunity of the giants must end.”
The probes announced by Ireland and Spain mark just the latest actions by European governments against US-based tech giants. Earlier in February, law enforcement authorities in France raided the office of X in Paris, which the Paris prosecutor’s office said was part of an investigation aimed at “ensuring that the X platform complies with French laws, insofar as it operates on national territory.”
The UK government’s Information Commissioner’s Office has also announced an investigation into X that the agency said encompasses “their processing of personal data in relation to the Grok artificial intelligence system and its potential to produce harmful sexualized image and video content.”
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez holds a press conference following the European Union (EU) Leaders’ Summit in Brussels, Belgium, on October 23, 2025. [Dursun Aydemir – Anadolu Agency]
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Monday that the territorial unity of Ukraine, the Gaza Strip and Venezuela is not open to negotiation.
In a post on the X platform, Sanchez said that “respect for the sovereignty of all states and their territorial integrity is a non-negotiable principle, from Ukraine to Gaza, including Venezuela”.
Commenting on remarks by US President Donald Trump, who described Greenland as having a strong strategic position and said the United States needs it for national security reasons, Sanchez expressed his rejection of those statements.
He added that Spain “will always remain actively committed to the United Nations and will be in full solidarity with Denmark and the people of Greenland”.
On Sunday, Spain, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay and Chile said in a joint statement that they “reject unilateral US military operations” in Venezuelan territory.
The statement, distributed by the Spanish authorities, said: “We express our deep concern about what is happening in Venezuela and our rejection of unilateral military actions carried out on Venezuelan territory.” Such actions had violated the “basic principles of international law, in particular the prohibition of the use of force and respect for territorial sovereignty established in the United Nations Charter.”
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.Donald Fuhrump says that Amerikkka doesn’t bother with crimes or charges anymore, not being 100% Amerikkkan and opposing his real estate intentions is enough.Orcas discuss how Trump was re-elected and him being an obviously insane, xenophobic Fascist.
A member of the militia group known as “Colectivos” takes part in a march calling for release of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, after he and his wife Cilia Flores were captured following U.S. strikes on Venezuela, in Caracas, Venezuela. Photograph: Gaby Oráa/Reuters
“Uncertainty,” said Griselda Guzmán, a 68-year-old pensioner, fighting back tears as she lined up outside a grocery store with her husband to stock up on supplies in case the coming days brought yet more drama.
“Anger,” said Sauriany, a 23-year-old administrative worker from Venezuela’s state-owned electricity company as she queued outside a supermarket on the other side of town with her 24-year-old partner, Leandro.
Leandro voiced shock as the couple waited in a 100-person queue to buy flour, milk and butter alongside a quartet of nuns. “W ho could have imagined that his would happen? That right at the start of the year they’d bomb our country while everyone was asleep?” he asked.
“If I thought it would improve the country I’d welcome it,” Leandro added, as shoppers were allowed into the overcrowded supermarket in small groups. “But I don’t believe this will happen. If they wanted peace, this isn’t the way to achieve it.”
Similarly confused sentiments could be heard all over Caracas on Sunday as its 3 million citizens came to terms with the traumatic nocturnal blitz on their city – a move the governments of Spain, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Uruguay warned set “an extremely dangerous precedent for peace and regional security”.
“It’s all so distressing,” said Gabriel Vásquez, a 29-year-old video-maker, recalling how he had been woken by the sound of a “gigantic” explosion at about 2am on Saturday and how his community in central Caracas was plunged into darkness as aircraft circled overhead.
“I thought that any time my house could get bombed too,” said Vásquez, whose neighbourhood was still in the dark on Sunday. “We have no water, no electricity, no phone reception – nothing,” he complained.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa (R) and Spanish Foreign Minister Juse Manuel Albares (L) hold a joint press conference after their meeting in Brussels, Belgium on May 26, 2024. [Ata Ufuk Şeker – Anadolu Agency]
Spain’s foreign minister on Friday denounced “catastrophic” humanitarian situation in Gaza, expressed support for peace in Gaza and called for an end to violence in the occupied West Bank, Anadolu reports.
In a phone call with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, Jose Manuel Albares said he conveyed to him Spain’s full support for a definitive peace in Gaza and for an end to the violence in the West Bank.
“Spain will continue working with the Palestinian Authority to sustain its financial viability and its reform plan,” he wrote on US social media company X, calling on Israel to transfer Palestinian tax revenues.
According to the Palestinian Finance Ministry, Israel has been withholding nearly $2 billion in Palestinian tax revenues since 2019, describing this as a “flagrant violation” of all signed agreements.
Albares said the expansion of illegal settlements must stop as 2025 closed as a record-breaking year for expansion in the occupied West Bank, with Israel’s far-right coalition approving an unprecedented number of new settlements and housing projects.
Earlier this week, Israel approved the construction of 126 settler homes in the Sa-Nur settlement outpost in the northern West Bank, which was evacuated in 2005 under a unilateral disengagement plan.
“The humanitarian situation in Gaza is catastrophic. Restrictions on NGOs are unacceptable and worsen the situation,” said the Spanish foreign minister, stressing that UN agengies including the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) must be able to operate freely in Gaza and the West Bank.
“We will take part in the reconstruction so that Gazans have a future in their own land,” he added.
Israel killed more than 71,000 people, mostly women and children, in Gaza since October 2023 and destroyed the enclave. A ceasefire took effect in October 2025 but Israeli violations have continued.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.Vote Labour for Genocide.
