Pedro Almodóvar urges Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez to cut all diplomatic and commercial ties with Israel

Oscar-winning Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar has urged Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to cut all diplomatic and commercial ties with Israel over the war in Gaza. 

The director of All About My Mother, The Skin I Live In and the Golden Lion-winning The Room Next Door called the conflict a "genocide" and prompted Sánchez to convince other European leaders to do the same in a video posted on Instagram by his production company El Deseo.

“I ask our government to sever diplomatic, commercial and all types of relations with the State of Israel as a sign of repulsion against the genocide it is committing against the people of Gaza before the eyes of the entire world,” he said.

In May, Almodóvar was one of more than 350 international actors, directors and producers to have signed a letter, published on the first day of the Cannes Film Festival, condemning the killing of Fatma Hassona, the 25-year-old Palestinian photojournalist and protagonist of the documentary Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk.   

The letter denounced the genocide in Gaza, and read: "We cannot remain silent while genocide is taking place in Gaza," adding that the creatives were “ashamed of such passivity.” 

Last year, Almodóvar was also among 250 Spanish cultural figures also urging the PM to ban arms trade with Israel. That letter called on the Spanish government to urgently impose a “comprehensive arms embargo” on Israel and said: “History will judge us by our actions at critical moments like this. Let us put an end to this horror.” 

In May 2024, Spain’s government approved the recognition of the State of Palestine. Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, described the decision as a "historic milestone" and said that it was a day "when our country says that indifference is unthinkable in the face of suffering, and that peace, solidarity, commitment and trust in humanity are possible". 

However, and despite Pedro Sánchez saying Gaza was in a "catastrophic situation of genocide" in June 2025, Spain has yet to cut off all ties with Israel.

Since Hamas’ attack on Israeli citizens on October 7, 2023, multiple UN human rights experts have stated that Israel’s military actions in Gaza amount to genocide, with the International Court of Justice finding claims of genocide plausible.

Israel has rejected the genocide accusations and maintain that its operations are lawful acts of self-defence.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), the world's leading authority on food crises, officially announced on 22 August that Gaza City is gripped by famine and that it is likely to spread across the territory without a ceasefire and an end to restrictions on humanitarian aid.