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Last update - 18:34 20/07/2006
Israel: Relations with Spain hurt by PM's accusation of 'abusive force'
By Reuters

Israel's envoy to Spain said on Thursday the two countries' relations had been damaged after the Spanish prime minister accused Israel of using "abusive force" during an event at which he also wore a Palestinian scarf.

Spain's ability to use its influence to help defuse the growing Middle East conflict could suffer following the speech by Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero to a meeting of young Socialists on Wednesday, Ambassador Victor Harel said.

His comments came as European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, himself a Spaniard, was involved in talks aimed at ending fighting between Israel, Lebanese Hizbollah guerrillas and Palestinian militants.
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"Each declaration which is not balanced has consequences for parties who want to use their influence," Harel told reporters at Madrid's Ritz Hotel where he listened to Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos at a conference.

Relations with Spain "are not in their best moment", he said.

Zapatero, who took power in a surprise election victory following Islamist train bombings in Madrid in 2004 and immediately pulled Spanish troops out of Iraq, had told the young Socialists: "No one should defend themselves with abusive force which does not protect innocent human beings."

Spain wants the United Nations Security Council to agree to deploy international troops to stop fighting which has claimed hundreds of lives since Israel launched bombardments nine days ago to stop Hizbollah attacking it with rockets.

Moratinos, who was once the EU's Middle East peace envoy, angrily denied an accusation at the conference by a former Spanish Jewish community leader that Zapatero's remarks were anti-Semitic.

During the question-and-answer session at the breakfast, Mauricio Hatchwell, a member of Spain's small Jewish community, accused Zapatero of being antisemitic.

Moratinos reacted sternly, saying one could be a loyal ally of Israel and still criticize it without being antisemitic. He addressed Hatchwell personally and told him not to repeat such criticism of the government.

"Let this be the last time you publicly denounce and condemn and express yourself saying a Spanish government is antisemitic," Moratinos said.

He said he was not worried by the diplomatic effect of photographs in Spanish newspapers on Thursday of a grinning Zapatero wearing a black-and-white Palestinian scarf passed to him by a student at Wednesday's meeting.

"I imagine that when Prime Minister Zapatero goes to the Wailing Wall, he'll put on a kippah," said Moratinos, referring to a traditional Jewish skull cap and Jerusalem's Western Wall
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  1.   Doesn`t he know that he doesn`t have the right to criticize the 15:33  |  Muhammad-Ali 20/07/06
  2.   Arabs in Spain feel abused since they bomb trains 15:33  |  Absolute Sweden 20/07/06
  3.   Good for Spain! 15:44  |  Yaakov Sullivan 20/07/06
  4.   Big joke 15:47  |  Jeremiah 20/07/06
  5.   Spanish pols lack backbone 15:50  |  Margie in TA 20/07/06
  6.   You are either pro-ending Hizballah OR you are anti-Israel 15:51  |  Ben 20/07/06
  7.   Viva Espana; Long live the EU 15:51  |  Jeroen 20/07/06
  8.   Moratinos ignorant by confusing religion with nationalism!! 15:58  |  arthur 20/07/06
  9.   Zapatero: Coward or Simplistic world view 16:00  |  Yaron 20/07/06
  10.   What a stupid answer 16:01  |  Baba 20/07/06
  11.   Stupid cowardly Spaniards 16:02  |  rich 20/07/06
  12.   Tell Moratinos 16:07  |  BAO LAM 20/07/06
  13.   #1 16:09  |  BAO LAM 20/07/06
  14.   Hypocrisy Issues forth from Europe 16:10  |  eb 20/07/06
  15.   Spain relations hurt by PM`s accusation IDF 16:15  |  trupalistar 20/07/06
  16.   Right in the speech, stupid using scarf 16:20  |  Alfonso 20/07/06
  17.   spain loves to yield to blackmail 16:23  |  vs 20/07/06
  18.   Margie in TA and the rest of the world 16:27  |  Yaakov Sullivan 20/07/06
  19.   he is afraid 16:27  |  Yaron 20/07/06
  20.   Spain doesn`t need Israel so who cares 16:31  |  Stephen Murray 20/07/06
  21.   Finally some voices againts Israel Goverment 16:33  |  silvia 20/07/06
  22.   Spain in WW II 16:37  |  Mike 20/07/06
  23.   Zapatero cares only for internal politics 16:40  |  noemí 20/07/06
  24.   To Ben 16:40  |  mazen 20/07/06
  25.   wake up israeli left 1 16:42  |  pedro saraiva 20/07/06
  26.   Attn: Spain Appeasement does not work 16:45  |  Murray 20/07/06
  27.   wake up israeli left 2 16:47  |  paulo2006 20/07/06
  28.   cobblers 16:50  |  sam 20/07/06
  29.   viva espana 16:54  |  Josh Goldman 20/07/06
  30.   loco espana 16:55  |  ross 20/07/06
  31.   Spain Only Asks For One Thing... 16:57  |  Rick 20/07/06
  32.   LBANON CONQUEST MUST BE SWIFT LEST SOCIALSTS BEGIN TO CRY,PROTEST 17:02  |  VOICE of MOSHIACH))) 20/07/06
  33.   Let`s be objective 17:04  |  Claudio Manso 20/07/06
  34.   this IS the same Spain that 17:07  |  Nechama 20/07/06
  35.   Spain Land of Fascism, Franco, The Inquisition, and Black Legend 17:09  |  Rollie Kenmore 20/07/06
  36.   Now Spain is anti-semitic too? 17:10  |  mark 20/07/06
  37.   Spain should just shut up 17:10  |  Dar 20/07/06
  38.   Spain should just shut up 17:10  |  Dar 20/07/06
  39.   Listen to the others - they are all human beings 17:10  |  André 20/07/06
  40.   Jeroen 17:10  |  hermano de Jeroen 20/07/06
  41.   HA 17:13  |  Simon Lewis 20/07/06
  42.   Spanish Inquisition alive & well 17:14  |  Dr. Ron Sanders 20/07/06
  43.   Stephen Murray: Collective Punishement 17:14  |  Yaron 20/07/06
  44.   Just give the Islamists Spain 17:15  |  Korla Pundit 20/07/06
  45.   Just give the Islamists Spain 17:15  |  Korla Pundit 20/07/06
  46.   The Sons of the Inquisition: Moratinos Also an Antisemite 17:16  |  Semsem 20/07/06
  47.   I am Spanish and I am ashamed of Zapatero 17:16  |  Pedro 20/07/06
  48.   Spain has crossed over to the land of liberalism 17:18  |  Jim 20/07/06
  49.   spain in wwii 17:19  |  ted villalon 20/07/06
  50.   Vichy Spain Wants the "good jews" of old. 17:19  |  Bernard Ross 20/07/06
  51.   Spanish comments 17:20  |  Janet 20/07/06
  52.   Bravo Espana! 17:20  |  Yaakov Sullivan 20/07/06
  53.   joke 17:21  |  Alex 20/07/06
  54.   Spain relations hurt by PM`s acusation IDF uses `abuses force 17:23  |  Ray 20/07/06
  55.   I´m ashamed of my Prime Minister. 17:24  |  Roberto Gutierrez 20/07/06
  56.   Spain`s the one to talk 17:25  |  nicolo 20/07/06
  57.   Zapatero 17:26  |  Andrea 20/07/06
  58.   Spain and the past 17:26  |  John H 20/07/06
  59.   españa es grande 17:27  |  Imad 20/07/06
  60.   Huh 17:27  |  JPL 20/07/06
  61.   Habla un español ( Spaniard talking) 17:28  |  Shame on Spain 20/07/06
  62.   Spain and France: Ben Dover Nations 17:29  |  John Harman 20/07/06
  63.   Zapatero 17:29  |  Marta H Baujin 20/07/06
  64.   WAKE UP TO ARAB AGGRESSION 17:29  |  Joe 20/07/06
  65.   Moratinos Wall Street Journal Article 17:29  |  Laila 20/07/06
  66.   VIVA 17:30  |  Sam 20/07/06
  67.   to Margie 17:30  |  Andrea 20/07/06
  68.   this from the country that caved in to al qaeda 17:30  |  ferstbaseman 20/07/06
  69.   I`m spanish and i`m with Israel 17:32  |  Vicent 20/07/06
  70.   "No one should defend" 17:32  |  Bagrat 20/07/06
  71.   People of Europe 17:32  |  Matt 20/07/06
  72.   #7 Alfonso / Lie: Spain hardly helped Jews 17:34  |  Brett 20/07/06
  73.   Remember Neville? 17:38  |  Ed