ISTANBUL

Israel summoned the Spanish ambassador Wednesday after Spain's prime minister called it a “genocidal state.”

Ana Salomon​​​​​​​ was asked to attend a meeting at the Foreign Ministry after Pedro Sanchez made the remarks, saying Spain "does not do business” with such a country.

“Following the severe remarks made by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, the Spanish Ambassador to Israel has been summoned for a reprimand meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem tomorrow,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

During a parliamentary question-and-answer session in Madrid, Sanchez responded to criticism from Gabriel Rufian, a Catalan member of parliament, who accused the Socialist leader of maintaining trade ties with Israel despite the Gaza war.

"I want to make one thing clear here, Mr. Rufian. We do not do business with a genocidal state," Sanchez stressed.

It was reportedly the first time that Sanchez publicly used the term "genocidal state" -- a phrase frequently employed by his far-left coalition partner, the Sumar party.

Sumar leader and Second Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Diaz has repeatedly accused Israel of genocide and has called for a freeze on trade relations between Spain and Israel.

The Israeli army has continued a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip, killing more than 52,900 Palestinians since October 2023, most of them women and children.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.