Spain holds several small territories on the North African coast surrounded by Morocco, the largest of them Ceuta, opposite the Strait of Gibraltar, with further “teeny tiny” enclaves farther down the coast.[1][2] Kiriakou observes that most people do not know they exist, and that they are “remnants of colonial times”: the Moroccans dislike the arrangement, the Spanish like it, and it remains an unresolved irritant between the two states.[2][3]
The colonial argument
The enclaves give Israel a rhetorical opening against a country that has been among its sharpest European critics. As Spain condemns Israel as an occupying colonial power, Israel has “been trolling Spain for its colonial settlements in Africa like Ceuta.”[4] Kiriakou grants the point rather than dismissing it, while noting the difference in vintage: Spain was given the territories in treaties more than 400 years ago, “so a little less recent than Israel laid claims to places like Rafah and the West Bank. But you can see Israel’s point.”[4][5] Spain’s standing with Washington and Jerusalem is poor on other grounds too: it has refused the United States the use of Spanish airspace for military strikes, and Spanish public opinion has been among the most outspoken against Israeli conduct in Gaza.[4]
American policy
Kiriakou flags a post by Thomas Massie, whom he calls a friend of the programme, reporting that it had recently become official United States policy to oppose Spain’s colonies in Morocco, and to describe them as an occupation — accompanied by $40 million given to the Moroccan government.[6][7] Massie’s question, which Kiriakou repeats without answering, is how such language found its way into American law.[6] Kiriakou draws no direct link between this and the 2026 crossings, saying only that he has seen no direct evidence tying Israel to the surge but “would not be surprised at all” if American and Israeli intelligence knew what was coming and neither acted nor warned Madrid.[5][7]