Spanish PM rules out Moroccan responsibility in migrant surge

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday ruled out Moroccan responsibility in last month's migrant rush to Ceuta, accusing Israel, Russia and the far right of spreading disinformation about the crisis.

More than 70,000 migrants entered the small Spanish territory in north Africa on July 30-31, swimming or crossing on foot from neighbouring Morocco in an unprecedented rush that left scores dead.

Some analysts have suggested the crisis may have been a message sent to Spain by Morocco over the disputed Western Sahara after Sanchez visited Rabat's historic enemy Algeria in July.

The Western Sahara is a former Spanish colony largely controlled by Morocco but claimed by the Algerian-backed pro-independence Polisario Front.

But Sanchez told Cadena SER radio that "no intelligence service with which the Spanish government normally cooperates" had suggested "any involvement in one way or another of the Moroccan authorities".

"We must be aware that this crisis can only be resolved through cooperation and not through distrust toward Morocco," he added.

While the National Intelligence Centre and police shared situation reports with the government, "no information made it possible to gauge the scale, the seriousness of the crisis we were going to experience," Sanchez said.

"We are continuing to investigate" what happened, he added.

- Disinformation -

Sanchez also singled out "rumours and disinformation" that spread on social networks after the mass entry, which he said were "linked to Russia and Israel, and to an ultra-right international that always uses migration to attack both Spain and Europe and divide it".

Sanchez is an outspoken critic of Israel's devastating war against Hamas in Gaza and a staunch supporter of Ukraine since Russia's 2022 invasion.

The Socialist leader said Russian and Israeli disinformation in the migration crisis was due to "the political stances we are maintaining regarding the genocide in Gaza or (President Vladimir) Putin's invasion in Ukraine".

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar hit back on X, saying Sanchez was "lying shamelessly" by "accusing Israel of disseminating misleading information".

"Continuing to spread defamatory lies will not distract from Sanchez's disgraceful failure to manage his country's affairs," Saar wrote.

Experts have told AFP that disinformation on social media fuelled the surge in the first place by deliberately misinterpreting a Spanish Supreme Court ruling, claiming that migrants who arrived by sea would not be returned.

- Political flashpoint -

The crisis triggered fresh tensions within the European Union over the sensitive topic of immigration and dealt a blow to one of its main achievements, the Schengen free-travel zone.

Italy's right-wing government imposed border checks for one month on travellers from Spain after the crisis, with Madrid reciprocating a week later.

Both governments announced a 15-day extension of the controls on Monday.

Although the vast majority of the migrants returned to Morocco within hours, thousands remain in the tiny territory of 18 square kilometres (seven square miles) and 84,000 inhabitants, many living rough on the streets.

Their fate has become a major political flashpoint, with the conservative and far-right opposition demanding that all those who entered Ceuta, including minors, be returned to Morocco.

Ceuta residents have held regular demonstrations over what they say are security and hygiene problems linked to the influx.

Sanchez on Monday said that 6,000 spaces at reception centres would soon be available in the territory for migrants, whose status must be verified by the Spanish authorities before any possible return to Morocco.

He also pledged an additional 168 million euros ($195 million) in aid for Ceuta to respond to the crisis.