Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Monday that Russia and Israel had spread and amplified disinformation surrounding last month’s mass influx of migrants into Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta.

Sánchez pointed to research conducted by the European External Action Service, the European Union’s diplomatic arm, and said it was “evident” that both countries had seized on the crisis as an opportunity to attack his government.

He said the alleged disinformation campaign was connected to Spain’s wider disputes with Moscow over the war in Ukraine and with Jerusalem over the wars in Gaza and the broader Middle East.

The remarks follow the arrival of tens of thousands of migrants from Morocco into Ceuta in late July, in what became one of Spain’s most serious migration crises in years. Spanish authorities estimated that roughly 49,000 migrants entered the enclave within a 24-hour period. Madrid subsequently characterized the incident as a violation of Spanish territorial sovereignty.

The episode also produced broader political repercussions across Europe. Italy threatened to suspend parts of its Schengen arrangements with Spain, while accounts from migrants alleging that Moroccan police had encouraged people to cross into Ceuta intensified political anger in Madrid and raised concerns in other European capitals.

Sánchez’s allegations against Israel come as relations between Madrid and Jerusalem have deteriorated sharply.

Spain recognized a Palestinian state in 2024 and has since become one of Europe’s most vocal critics of Israel’s conduct of the Gaza war. Sánchez has accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, advocated restrictions on weapons and fuel shipments to Israel, and urged other European Union countries to suspend the bloc’s free-trade agreement with Israel. Israel has firmly rejected the genocide allegation and has repeatedly accused Sánchez’s government of adopting an anti-Israel agenda.

The dispute intensified after Sánchez said Spain did not possess the military capabilities including nuclear weapons and aircraft carriers needed to compel Israel to stop its operations in Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office responded by accusing Sánchez of making a “genocidal threat.” Spain subsequently summoned Israel’s top diplomat in Madrid and dismissed the accusation as false and defamatory.

More recently, Israel removed Spain from a U.S.-backed civilian-military coordination center in Kiryat Gat. The Israeli Foreign Ministry cited what it described as the Sánchez government’s “anti-Israel obsession” and said Madrid could no longer make a constructive contribution to the initiative.

Sánchez’s latest comments add another layer to the increasingly bitter dispute between Spain and Israel. By placing Israel alongside Russia, the Spanish prime minister is alleging that both governments sought to capitalize on the Ceuta migration crisis to advance their political interests and undermine Madrid.