Spain-Morocco Tensions Escalate Over Polisario Leader’s Hospital Stay

Arancha González Laya declared on Spanish national radio (RNE) that Brahim Ghali "will return to his country when he has recovered", reports Le360 which specifies that by this statement, the head of Spanish diplomacy unknowingly reveals that the next destination country for the leader of the Polisario is none other than Algeria, which issued him a diplomatic passport under a false identity. Because in reality, no solution can satisfy both Rabat and Algiers, develops the media which notes that Spain is facing a dilemma: either it lets the trial against Brahim Ghali go to its conclusion and does not keep its word given to Algeria, or it repatriates him to Algeria and chooses to prolong the crisis with Morocco.

For its part, Morocco has remained firm on its position, arguing that the reason for the crisis is the secret reception on Spanish soil of Brahim Ghali under a false identity, and not the migration crisis in Ceuta, as Spain has tried to make believe in order to gain the solidarity of Europe against Morocco.

With this statement, Arancha González Laya seems to minimize the consequences of the presence on its territory of the leader of the Polisario on the relations between Morocco and Spain. Moreover, by choosing to shield Brahim Ghali from justice, Spain opens a new page of crisis between Rabat and Madrid.