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Spanish President Pedro Sanchez on Thursday (local time) strongly hit back at Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz over his remarks targeting FC Barcelona golden boy Lamine Yamal after the young FC Barcelona star waved a Palestinian flag during the open-top bus parade celebrations that took place on the occasion of the Catalan club winning their 29th La Liga title.
Sanchez, in a post on X, accused Katz, without naming the Israeli minister, of having "lost judgement" and being "blinded by ignominy" for describing Yamal's gesture as an act of incitement against Israel. "Those who consider waving the flag of a State to be 'inciting hatred' have either lost their judgement or been blinded by their own ignominy. Lamine has only expressed the solidarity with Palestine felt by millions of Spaniards. Another reason to be proud of him," Sanchez wrote. The Spanish leader's remarks came in response to a strongly worded statement issued by Katz on X, where the Israeli minister condemned Yamal's action and urged Barcelona to distance itself from the footballer's actions. "Lamine Yamal chose to incite against Israel and foment hatred while our soldiers are fighting the terrorist organisation Hamas, an organisation that massacred, raped, burned, and murdered Jewish children, women, and elderly on October 7," Katz wrote. "Whoever supports this type of message should ask themselves: Does he consider this humanitarian? Is this moral? As the Minister of Defence of the State of Israel, I will not remain silent in the face of incitement against Israel and against the Jewish people," he added. Katz further said that he expected Barcelona "to distance itself from these statements and make it unequivocally clear that there is no place for incitement or for support of terrorism". The exchange has sparked sharp reactions on social media and added to the growing political debate in Europe surrounding expressions of solidarity with Palestinians amid Israeli operations in Gaza as well as the West Bank. Yamal, one of Spain's most prominent young football stars, has not publicly responded to the controversy so far. The 18-year-old, on Monday, was seen holding and waving a large Palestinian flag aboard the team's open-top bus as Barcelona celebrated with fans during a victory parade through the city. (ANI)
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