Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez expressed pride on Thursday in Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal after the teenager waved a Palestinian flag at a La Liga title parade, triggering sharp criticism from an Israeli cabinet minister.
Yamal, 18, brandished the flag during an open-top bus celebration through Barcelona on Monday, as the Catalan club marked its second consecutive La Liga championship. The gesture quickly drew international attention, and condemnation from Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz.
“I hope a great and respected club like Barcelona distances itself from these remarks and makes it unambiguously clear that there is no place for incitement or support for terrorism,” Katz wrote in Spanish on X, accusing Yamal of choosing to “incite hatred” against Israel.
Sanchez Hits Back
Sanchez, a vocal critic of Israel who has previously described its military campaign in Gaza as a “genocide,” offered a firm rebuttal. “Those who think that waving the flag of a state is ‘inciting hatred’ have either lost their minds or have been blinded by their own disgrace,” he wrote on X.
He then added: “Lamine just expressed the solidarity with Palestine that millions of Spaniards feel. Yet another reason to be proud of him.”
Support for the Palestinian cause runs broad and deep across Spain. Consequently, Yamal’s gesture has resonated far beyond European football. Artists at a refugee camp in Gaza, a territory largely reduced to rubble, have painted a mural depicting the young star waving a Palestinian flag, according to an AFP journalist on the ground.
Club Coach Takes a Cautious Line
Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick struck a more measured tone, saying that he “didn’t like” the gesture, yet acknowledged that “if he wants to do it, it’s his decision.”
Spain-Israel relations have deteriorated sharply since the Gaza conflict began following the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023. Madrid’s recognition of a Palestinian state in 2024 prompted Israel to recall its ambassador, as Spain then formally withdrew its own envoy from Tel Aviv in March.
