According to a poll by the Royal Elcano Institute, 82% of Spaniards surveyed believe that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza.
A little over a week ago, pro-Palestinian demonstrators disrupted the Vuelta cycling race to oppose the participation of the Israeli team, the Telegraph reports.
Several stages were interrupted, participants had to get off their bikes before the finish line, and the final ceremony was held in a hotel parking lot without spectators.
At the same time, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez questioned Israel's right to participate in international competitions, citing Russia as an example of a country blocked from such events due to the war in Ukraine.
He proposed a series of measures to put pressure on the Israeli government, including formalizing an arms embargo, increasing humanitarian aid to Gaza, and banning ships carrying fuel for the Israeli military from passing through Spanish ports.
This pro-Palestinian stance is part of a long tradition of friendship between Madrid and Arab countries, stretching back to the years immediately after World War II.
Historical heritage
Since 1945, Spain under general and dictator Francisco Franco was largely isolated on the international stage.
The country was expelled from the United Nations because of the fascist nature of Franco's dictatorship and because Spain, while officially neutral, had been politically aligned with the Axis Powers and had provided support to Nazi Germany.
Franco's regime sought to break this isolation by creating closer ties with countries in South America and Arab countries, such as Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq, and Libya.
It was the beginning of the Cold War that prompted the US government to change its stance towards Franco's Spain. Its geographical location and anti-communist government were seen as valuable assets in the plans of the "free world" and after submitting its application, Spain was officially admitted to the UN on December 14, 1955.
Franco always refused to recognize Israel, "mainly to win votes in the United Nations from conservative Arab monarchies, but also from Nasser's socialist regime (in Egypt), Saddam Hussein's Baathist regime in Iraq and because Spain needed votes on issues related to decolonization," Rosa María Pardo Sanz, a professor at the National University of Distance Education (UNED) in Madrid, told Euronews.
Arab countries made it easier for Franco's regime to "overcome oil crises" and "balance tensions with Morocco" over Western Sahara, said Pardo Sanz.
After Franco's death in 1975, Spain deepened its relations with Palestine, and Prime Minister Adolfo Suárez was one of the first European leaders to host the head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Yasser Arafat, in 1979.
"The PLO was considered an unacceptable or even terrorist organization in other countries. But in Spain, it was completely normal," Isaías Barreñada Bajo, professor of international relations at the Complutense University of Madrid, told Euronews.
While Spain has maintained a consulate in East Jerusalem since the 1850s, it did not establish formal diplomatic relations with Israel until 1986.
This gave Spain the opportunity to take on the role of mediator in an attempt to resolve the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict.
There are other factors that may help explain the level of support, among the Spanish public and political elite, for the Palestinian cause.
In the 60s, several Palestinian students, mostly men, came to study in Spain. Some stayed in the country, getting married and starting families.
"Nowadays, there are many professionals of Palestinian origin in Spain, including in economics and commerce. It's not a large community, but it's very integrated and part of the landscape," Bajo said.
For example, Spain's current Minister for Youth and Children, Sira Rego, was born in 1973 to a Palestinian father and a Spanish mother.
Public opinion
Studies also show that support for the Palestinian cause is deeply rooted in the Spanish population.
According to a survey conducted by the Royal Elcano Institute and published in July 2025, 82% of Spaniards surveyed believe that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza and 78% support the official recognition of the state of Palestine by European states.
Spain, Ireland, and Norway officially recognized Palestinian statehood together on May 22, 2024, which at that time brought the total number of UN member states making the move to 146 out of 193.
Isaías Barreñada Bajo says there is a "convergence between the government's position and the people's position."
"The decision to impose an embargo on arms sales to Israel was supported for months by more than 500 Spanish civil society organizations," said Moussa Bourekba, a researcher at the Barcelona Center for International Affairs (CIDOB).
He added that there is a bipartisan "consensus" between the conservative Popular Party (PP) and the Socialist Party (PSOE) on the fact that "the solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict necessarily includes the creation of a Palestinian state."
But despite this broad consensus, a rift seems to have opened in recent months, as Pedro Sánchez's pro-Palestinian faction continues to evolve.
"We are in the process of observing a form of instrumentalization of the Palestinian issue on a domestic level, both by certain members of the government and obviously by certain members of the opposition party, the Popular Party and also Vox, the Spanish far right," Bourekba said.
While Vox is "pro-Israel, like many European far-right parties," the case of the PP, which criticizes government decisions to fulfill its role as the main political opposition, is more complex.
Spanish politics
This support for the Palestinian cause is "in line with a principle of Spanish foreign policy since democratization: respect for international law. We must remember that states have the obligation to prevent genocide and not to collaborate in it," explained Isaías Barreñada Bajo.
Domestic politics also play a role. Spain is currently governed by a coalition made up of the Socialist Party (PSOE) and the radical left-wing group Sumar.
"This left-wing component in the government is putting pressure on the socialist wing," says Bajo.
He also emphasized that most decisions on the Palestinian issue are made by the Prime Minister and not by the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
"It's really a game of chance that goes beyond foreign policy and plays with internal political balances," he said.
The government is also seeking to present Spain as a country with "an independent and coherent stance," the professor argues.
"The Palestinian cause gives it considerable prestige, especially in the Mediterranean and the global South," said Bajo, recalling the words of former French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin, who, when asked about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, said "Today, who is saving Europe's honor in this region? Spain."
Pedro Sánchez's stance in favor of the Palestinians can also be explained by the European Union's difficulties in taking action, undermined by its divisions.
"I think the Spanish perspective is based on the principle that the European Union is completely paralyzed because the member states are absolutely incapable of adopting a common position on this conflict. There are still countries like Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic that support Israel, or at least believe that dialogue with Israel should continue to find a solution to this conflict," said Moussa Bourekba.
It is worth noting that support for the Palestinian cause in Spain has not been accompanied by an increase in anti-Semitism, as Elcano's survey shows.
Violent anti-Semitic incidents have increased in seven countries with the largest Jewish communities outside Israel, according to a report by the Anti-Defamation League's (ADL) J7 Task Force published in May.
These countries in the J7 report include Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia and Argentina.
According to UNIA, Belgium's independent public institution that promotes equality and combats discrimination, 277 people reported anti-Semitic acts and 79 investigations were opened in 2024, compared to 59 in 2023.
The European Commission condemned "those who are importing" the war in Gaza into Europe and will "increase" protection for Jewish citizens, a Commission spokesperson told Euronews last week.
"We see a worrying increase in anti-Semitism, a trend that is completely unjustifiable," the spokesman said, adding: "We stand firmly against all forms of anti-Semitism. Jewish people must feel safe throughout Europe."
"This movement, both at the popular and governmental level, has been able to distinguish between the Jewish issue and the Israeli issue. In Spain, accusing critics of the State of Israel of anti-Semitism does not work," explained Isaías Barreñada Bajo.
"In the debate, we don't talk about Jews, we talk about Israelis. And this exercise in the rigorous use of ideas and terms has also helped to avoid a simplistic mix. And I think this is an expression of a certain maturity in public opinion and in the debate," added Barrenada Bajo. /Telegraph/