Spanish PM Backtracks on Accusations Against Israel Over Ceuta Crisis

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has significantly softened his previous claims that Israel was involved in a disinformation campaign surrounding the crisis in Ceuta. Speaking in the Congress of Deputies, Sánchez stated that Spanish intelligence services have been unable to confirm who was behind the social media information spread before the mass border crossing. "At this moment, our intelligence services have not been able to confirm that Morocco, Russia, or Israel were behind this information on social media," Sánchez said, as reported by Cadena SER and The Objective. Ceuta TV further quoted him as saying it was impossible to determine if Moroccan movements, authorities, Russia, or Israel were behind the accounts, as it could not be proven.

Sánchez's retraction follows large demonstrations across Spain in support of Ceuta, where approximately 20,000 people protested, demanding explanations for the events of July 30-31. During that period, tens of thousands of people crossed the border from Morocco into the Spanish autonomous city.

Earlier, on August 31, Sánchez had alleged in a Cadena SER interview that "Russian and Israeli networks" spread fake news following a Supreme Court decision, and that these countries were using migration issues to attack Spain and Europe. He had also largely excluded Moroccan responsibility, calling cooperation with Rabat "frankly positive."

The European External Action Service confirmed Russian entities attempted to spread disinformation during the Ceuta crisis, but this occurred after the border crossing and the EU found no evidence that foreign disinformation triggered the event. Regarding Israel, Brussels did not confirm state involvement, only mentioning isolated accounts appearing after the crisis began.

Adding to Sánchez's difficulties, a report by the Spanish National Police's Center for Immigration and Borders (CENIF) for a National Court judge described the July 30-31 events as "planned" rather than spontaneous. The police concluded that organizing such a large movement required capabilities beyond those of typical smuggling networks. The report indicated that most messages preceding the crossing originated from Moroccan phone numbers and noted a "complete permissive stance" from Moroccan security forces, with no serious attempts to stop the crowd. While the report did not directly attribute the operation's order to the Moroccan government, it identified individuals linked to Moroccan security structures among organizers and participants. Spanish police chief Francisco Pardo emphasized that no police document assigned responsibility for planning or organizing the mass crossing to Moroccan security forces.

Sánchez also acknowledged that Moroccan gendarmerie effectively allowed people to cross for about ten hours on July 30, stating it remains unclear whether this was due to inability to stop the flow or deliberate inaction. This marks a significant shift from his earlier firm statements about Russian and Israeli networks and praise for Moroccan cooperation.