Israel Summons Spanish Envoy Over Sira Rego’s ‘River To The Sea’ Remarks

Israel on Monday summoned Spain’s charge d’affaires, Francisca Pedrós, for a reprimand after Spanish Youth and Children’s Minister Sira Rego backed a “free Palestine from the river to the sea”. Israel said the remark was part of what it described as a systematic anti-Israel policy pursued by the government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said Rego’s statement implied the elimination of Israel and accused the Spanish government of supporting a vision incompatible with Israel’s existence. Pedrós was summoned on the instructions of Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and was due to meet Gilad Cohen, head of the ministry’s Political-Strategic Directorate.

Rego made the remarks on September 24 in Madrid while presenting Fadi Elhusseini, the newly appointed Palestinian ambassador to Spain, at a public event. She said Spanish society’s position on Palestine was clear and called for a free Palestine “from the river to the sea”. She also called for the suspension of diplomatic and commercial relations between the European Union and Israel.

The phrase has become one of the most contested slogans of the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Israel and several Jewish organisations interpret it as advocating the removal of the Israeli state. Other supporters of the phrase use it to describe Palestinian rights and self-determination across the territory between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.

Israel also pointed to Rego’s earlier statements following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, saying she had not condemned the assault and had instead spoken of Palestinians’ right to resist after decades of occupation. Rego has also previously shared posts critical of Israel and supportive of calls to expel Israeli diplomats from Spain.

Israel barred Rego and Spain’s deputy prime minister from entering the country in September 2025. Relations between the two governments have remained strained, with both countries currently maintaining reduced diplomatic representation.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said Rego’s latest remarks reflected the Spanish government’s direction under Sánchez and accused Madrid of attacking Israel for exercising what it described as its right to defend itself against Hamas and Iran. There was no immediate response from the Spanish government to Monday’s diplomatic reprimand.