Spain's Sanchez slams Israeli minister for attack on Yamal over Palestinian flag

Spain's Sanchez slams Israeli minister for attack on Yamal over Palestinian flag Submitted by Reem Aouir on Fri, 05/15/2026 - 12:04 The Spanish premier defended the Barcelona star and said he was 'proud' of him after Israel's defence minister accused the 18-year-old of 'inciting hatred' for waving a Palestinian flag Lamine Yamal waves a Palestinian flag during FC Barcelona's open-top victory parade to celebrate winning LaLiga, in Barcelona, Spain, 11 May 2026 in this screen grab obtained from social media video. (@hsmramy via Instagram / Reuters) Off Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has publicly defended Spanish footballer Lamine Yamal after Israel's  defence minister accused the Barcelona star of "inciting hatred" for waving a Palestinian flag during the club's victory parade on Monday. Thousands of fans had showered praise on the 18-year-old forward, considered one of the best football players in the world, for waving the flag from an open-top bus as an estimated 750,000 fans gathered on the streets of Barcelona to celebrate the club's second consecutive league victory. Israel Katz lashed out  on social media on Thursday, accusing Yamal of "incitement against Israel and against the Jewish people".  "I expect a great and respected club like @FCBarcelona to distance itself from these statements and make it unequivocally clear that there is no place for incitement or for support of terrorism," he added in his post on X, formerly known as Twitter. Later that day, the Spanish premier posted, in an apparent response to Katz, that "those who consider waving the flag of a state to be 'inciting hatred' have either lost their judgment or been blinded by their own ignominy". ...

Original source: Middle East Eye