Aznar accuses Sánchez of using the war in Gaza to "escape" from his corruption problems.

Former Prime Minister José María Aznar has accused Pedro Sánchez of instrumentalizing the Palestinian cause , fueling tensions with Israel over its military offensive in Gaza to "escape" from his corruption problems.

At the inauguration of the Faes 2025 Campus, organized by the foundation he chairs, Aznar made it clear that the current Moncloa mayor's defense of the Palestinian population is driven by personal, not humanitarian, objectives. "Does he care that much about the Palestinians? No, what matters to him is being here one more day because he has corruption problems that he needs to escape," he stated. In his opinion, "foreign policy cannot be that; it has to be a strategic analysis of what is best for the country and what is best for the world as a whole."

Therefore, he warned that "transforming domestic policies into foreign policies is absurd," as they must be addressed with a comprehensive approach and in conjunction with European partners, as previous Spanish governments did , not going it alone. In this regard, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, told reporters in Cairo, where he is accompanying the King and Queen on their state visit to Egypt, that "Spain is saving the honor and dignity of Europe" with the position adopted by his government.

A vision that contrasts radically with that of former President Aznar, who has exposed the extreme situation faced by other oppressed peoples in various parts of the world, to which Sánchez pays no attention. "Did he care that much about the Sahrawi people, whom he left in the lurch with agreements that he has yet to explain in the Congress of Deputies? How many voices has he listened to defend the Venezuelan democratic opposition, which he will never defend because it cannot explain the business dealings in Venezuela of people linked to it?" This is a clear reference to former President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, whose visa the United States is threatening to revoke due to his ties to the authoritarian and mafia-like regime of Nicolás Maduro.

For the man who led Spain's government and foreign policy between 1996 and 2004, the outcome of the Middle East conflict is critical for the future of democracy and freedom worldwide, as is the outcome of the war in Ukraine. "If Israel were to lose what it's doing, we don't realize the problem we would have. The combination of the two problems [referring to Putin's offensive against Kiev] would put the Western world on the brink of total defeat," he added.