(MENAFN) Israel on Monday condemned the Spanish government as “anti-Semitic” and blocked entry to two Spanish ministers after Madrid unveiled nine sanctions aimed at pressuring Israel to end its nearly two-year Gaza offensive.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced measures intended to “stop the genocide in Gaza, pursue its perpetrators and support the Palestinian population.” The sanctions include banning ships and aircraft carrying weapons to Israel from Spanish ports and airspace, prohibiting imports of goods produced in Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories, and denying entry to individuals “participating directly in the genocide, the violation of human rights and war crimes in the Gaza Strip” into Spain.

Sanchez also pledged increased aid to the Palestinian Authority and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

In a sharp rebuttal, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, speaking at a joint news conference in Budapest with his Hungarian counterpart, called Spain’s sanctions “anti-Semitic” and declared, “the land of Israel” does not need Spain’s protection.

Sa’ar announced that Spain’s Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labor Yolanda Diaz and Youth and Children Minister Sira Rego will be barred from entering Israel, with all official contacts with the two ministers terminated.

Israel’s ongoing Gaza offensive, launched after a deadly Hamas attack in October 2023, has devastated the enclave of 2.2 million people, resulting in famine and at least 64,522 deaths, according to Gaza-based health authorities.

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