Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has told the Israeli government that Spanish members of the Gaza-bound aid flotilla “do not represent a danger or threat to Israel” and will receive full diplomatic protection from Madrid, Al Jazeera reports.

Speaking from Copenhagen at an EU Summit, Sanchez said he expects that “Netanyahu’s government will not represent a threat to the flotilla either”.

Sanchez confirmed Spanish authorities are in contact with flotilla members and argued the mission would never have been necessary if Israel had allowed aid through.

“This humanitarian mission would not have taken place if the government of Israel had allowed the entry of UNRWA and the distribution of aid” in Gaza, he said.