Claims about a video that allegedly depicted Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez referring to Israel as a "genocidal state" circulated online in May 2025 as Israel's heavy bombing and blockade of relief aid in Gaza continued.
Social media posts either sharing the video itself (archived) or alleged quotes from it spread rapidly across platforms like X (archived), Facebook (archived) and Instagram (archived).
The first European leader to state that Israel is committing genocide.
The dam is breaking. https://t.co/ulhkGYo2IX— Owen Jones (@owenjonesjourno) May 15, 2025
Claims purporting that a video depicts Sánchez possibly referring to Israel as a "genocidal state" correctly attribute the quote to Sánchez. However, there is important context to consider.
The exchange between MP Gabriel Rufián and Sánchez occurred during a Parliament plenary session on May 14, 2025, "to share available information on the electricity crisis and the restoration of normality of the electrical system, among other matters," according to an agenda on Spain's Congress of Deputies website.
The moment in question can be watched on the Spanish Parliament's official YouTube channel. The exchange begins around 19 minutes and 54 seconds.
Translated from Spanish, the relevant portion of the exchange read:
MP Gabriel Rufián: For now, what they [the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) that Sánchez leads] are doing is sharing the judges with the right, trading with a genocidal state like Israel, blocking the housing law with the Catalan right.
…
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez: I do believe that the vast majority of judges in our country do their work impartially. Yes, I do. I'd also like to point out one thing, Mr. Rufián. We don't trade with a genocidal state. We don't, Your Honor.
The exchange referenced concern over an order of ammunition by the Spanish government from an Israeli company that sparked debate in April 2025.
Junior partners of the coalition government called the deal "a 'flagrant breach' of the alliance agreement that jeopardised the country's sustained efforts to hold Israel accountable for its actions in Gaza," according to The Guardian, which added that "any unfulfilled arms orders from Israel placed before October 7 2023 would not proceed."
The deal was ultimately scrapped, with the government announcing "the contract would be unilaterally cancelled and that an import licence for the ammunition would be denied," as per The Guardian.
Spain has been one of the most outspoken governments regarding the ongoing war in Gaza. In November 2023, The Guardian reported Sánchez as saying, "The whole world is shocked at the images that we see coming from Gaza every day. The number of Palestinians killed is truly unbearable. I believe that all civilians must be protected at all costs."
Further, Sánchez recognized the Palestinian state in May 2024 and said, "We are going to recognise Palestine for many reasons and we can sum that up in three words: peace, justice and consistency." The prime minister also emphasized the importance of a "two-state solution" to resolve the conflict, saying "there must be mutual guarantees of security."
In the video, Sánchez didn't explicitly combine the words "Israel" and "genocidal state" while addressing Rufián, nor did Sánchez use the phrase "genocidal state" without prompting, but his remark, though slightly ambiguous, was universally interpreted in the context of his previous statements as a condemnation of Israel.
We reached out to Sánchez's press office for clarification and will update this article if we hear back.