Spain's PM points to Russian and Israeli disinformation in Ceuta migrant crisis
MADRID, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Monday that there were signs Russian and Israeli networks helped spread disinformation behind last month's mass migrant crossing into Ceuta, while he flatly ruled out Moroccan involvement.
“When people talk and speculate about the participation of Moroccan authorities, I deny this outright,” Sanchez told radio station SER.
More than 72,000 migrants crossed from Morocco into Ceuta on July 30 and 31, an unprecedented surge at one of the European Union's only two land borders with Africa. At least 100 people died during the attempt, according to Ceuta's local authorities. Spanish officials have said misleading posts on Instagram, TikTok and other social media, suggesting migrants who reached Ceuta by sea could remain in Spain, helped trigger the rush.
Sanchez said research by the European External Action Service, the EU's diplomatic service, indicated Russian and Israeli networks had worked alongside far-right groups to spread the disinformation. He said the two countries were using the crisis to criticize Madrid over its stance on the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, but he offered no further detail on the evidence.
Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Russia's Embassy in Spain and the EEAS did not immediately respond to requests from Reuters for comment.
Rising tensions in Ceuta
About 5,000 migrants, some seeking asylum, have remained in Ceuta since the border rush, fueling near-daily protests by local residents and sporadic attacks on a makeshift camp at El Trampolin beach, according to police reports. Three Moroccan citizens were arrested on Sunday for throwing bottles filled with corrosive liquids at an army patrol in the enclave, the news agency EFE reported, citing police sources. No one was injured, it said.
Sanchez also announced that the cabinet would release an additional 168 million euros ($195 million) in emergency funding to reactivate Ceuta's economy, a sum equal to 8% of the territory's gross domestic product. That comes on top of 180 million euros promised last week for medium-term recovery efforts.
The crisis has thrown Spain's migration policy back into the EU spotlight and revived accusations from Spanish opposition parties and human rights groups that Morocco deliberately allowed the mass crossing, something Rabat has denied. It also exposed how quickly false social media narratives can inflame a border emergency, leaving authorities in Madrid and Brussels scrambling to respond.