Spain should return Sebta to Morocco. This is the position defended by Howard W. French, former New York Times correspondent and a renowned specialist on Africa, who believes that Spanish sovereignty over the city rests on a historical anomaly destined to disappear.
The European Union will provide Spain with 114.7 million euros following the mass crossings from Morocco at the end of July. Part of this sum will directly fund new surveillance resources in Sebta: thermal cameras, buoys and underwater drones.
Alberto Núñez Feijóo directly challenged Pedro Sánchez’s relations with Morocco before the Spanish Parliament. “If Morocco speaks, you’re out,” the opposition leader told the prime minister, whom he accuses of no longer being a “free” president.
Some 70,000 Sahrawis could obtain Spanish nationality through a law that is due to be submitted to Congress on Thursday. The PSOE has decided to support it, but some Socialists acknowledge fearing the consequences for relations with Morocco.
Members of Ultras Sur burned a portrait of King Mohammed VI, as well as a Moroccan flag and a depiction of Pedro Sánchez, on Tuesday evening near the Santiago Bernabéu, before the Real Madrid–Inter Milan match.
A new gate installed by Morocco at Tarajal has sparked a battle of competing accounts in Spain. Police sources insist that it is located on Spanish territory, while Pedro Sánchez’s government claims exactly the opposite.
Morocco was not behind the massive arrival of migrants in Sebta at the end of July, Nasser Bourita reportedly assured José Manuel Albares. The Spanish foreign minister also revealed that Rabat had promised to immediately mobilize its resources to stop the flow.
Nasser Bourita reportedly assured his Spanish counterpart that the recent statements by Moroccan ministers regarding Ceuta and Melilla do not reflect Morocco’s official position. José Manuel Albares nevertheless says he is not satisfied with this explanation.
The Spanish government urgently removed a map from its new public housing portal. The document showed Ceuta and Melilla with dotted borders, used for disputed territories, while Western Sahara appeared integrated into Morocco.
The Spanish judiciary has taken a new step in the Ceuta crisis. Judge María Tardón has formally decided to open a criminal investigation into the mass crossings at the end of July, citing a serious threat to Spain’s territorial integrity and a possible scenario of “hybrid warfare.”
New calls are circulating in Morocco for a mobilization on September 20 around Ceuta and Melilla. The National Police, Guardia Civil, CNI and Spanish military intelligence are monitoring the campaign, although a march toward the border has not yet been confirmed.
A Guardia Civil general allegedly ordered all references to Morocco removed from a report intended for the judge investigating the mass entries into Ceuta. Internal sources claim that the document initially contained evidence implicating Moroccan officers.