Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Thursday that Barcelona star Lamine Yamal had made Spain “proud” by waving a Palestinian flag during a victory parade that sparked Israeli accusations of “incitement to hatred”.
The 18-year-old forward turned heads on Monday by waving a Palestinian flag during an open-top bus parade through Barcelona as the Catalan giants celebrated their second straight La Liga title.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz lashed out at the Spanish star on Thursday, saying he chose to «foment hatred» against his country.
“I hope that a great and respected club like Barcelona will distance itself from these comments and make it unequivocally clear that there is no place for inciting or supporting terrorism,” Katz said. X (formerly Twitter) in Spanish.
Sanchez, an outspoken critic of Israel who has called the devastating two-year war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza a «genocide,» hit back in Yamal’s defense.
“Those who think that waving a state flag ‘incites hatred’ have either gone mad or are blinded by their own shame,” he wrote X.
«Lamine has just expressed the solidarity with Palestine that millions of Spaniards feel. Another reason to be proud of him,» Sánchez added.
Yamal’s support for the Palestinian cause – which enjoys widespread popularity in Spain – has not gone unnoticed in Gaza.
Artists at a refugee camp in the largely destroyed area painted a mural showing Yamal waving a Palestinian flag on the rubble. AFP journalist saw.
A mural painted by Palestinian artists depicts Lamine Yamal, who waved a Palestinian flag during Barcelona’s La Liga victory parade on Wednesday, on the rubble of buildings destroyed during the war in Gaza City’s Shati (beach) refugee camp. | Photo credit: REUTERS
A mural painted by Palestinian artists depicts Lamine Yamal, who waved a Palestinian flag during Barcelona’s La Liga victory parade on Wednesday, on the rubble of buildings destroyed during the war in Gaza City’s Shati (beach) refugee camp. | Photo credit: REUTERS
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said he “didn’t like” Yamal’s actions but accepted that “if he wants to do it, it’s his decision.”
Relations between Spain and Israel have plummeted since the start of the Gaza war, sparked by the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Israel recalled its ambassador after Madrid recognized a Palestinian state in 2024, while Spain formally dismissed its own top envoy in Tel Aviv in March.
Published on May 15, 2026
