Wild online theories blame Israel for engineering Ceuta migrant rush to punish Spain, ensure Gibraltar access

Days after tens of thousands of mostly young men stormed the Spanish exclave of Ceuta from Morocco, certain corners of the internet have claimed that Israel was behind the incident.

However, a more serious analysis of the situation points to Islamist groups in Morocco, traffickers and an online campaign having contributed to the situation, according to Zineb Riboua, a research fellow with the Hudson Institute.

Speaking on Israel’s Radio 103FM on Sunday, Reichman University lecturer Henrique Cymerman explained the origin of the Israel-linked conspiracy theories regarding Ceuta.

“Israel enters the picture indirectly because of our alliance with Morocco and with the Americans,” he said.

“Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has become the leading anti-Israel voice in Europe… Some people say this is an attempt by the King of Morocco to show Sánchez what could happen if he compromises on other issues, for example in his relationship with Morocco's biggest rival, Algeria,” he continued.

“He is due to visit there (Algeria) soon, and Spain also buys large quantities` of Algerian gas. About 40% of Spain's gas comes from there,” Cymerman explained.

The theories accusing Israel have largely come from the usual suspects, who have blamed Israel for every negative occurrence for the past three years, fueling antisemitism by exploiting their massive online reach to disseminate their unsubstantiated claims.

A leading light of this group, the far-right conspiracy theorist Candace Owens, claimed that Morocco’s flag used to be a Star of David, which, she informed the public, is an “occult Baal symbol.”

“Spain – stay strong. The world knows what is happening and exactly who is behind it,” she wrote on 𝕏, responding to an earlier post by “news influencer” Mario Nawfal, who mused about how it was “interesting” that “people are claiming the Moroccan government is OPENLY cooperating with Israel, and it could have something to do with Ceuta.”

Did you know the “Star of David” (occult Baal symbol) used to be on the flag of Morocco, before modern Israel existed? May want to look into the history of the Alawite dynasty.
We discussed this in my Becoming Brigitte series. Pedophiles (like Emmanuel Macron’s favorite author… https://t.co/N6yj62e2wm

— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) July 31, 2026

“Not long after Spain REFUSED to accept ships carrying weapons ultimately destined for Israel, these ships were reportedly accepted instead by Morocco. Now that the Red Sea is closed to Israeli ships thanks to the Houthis, who's controlling the Strait of Gibraltar (the entrance to the Mediterranean) becomes more critical,” he wrote.

Owens also reposted a seven-year-old post by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s son Yair, which has become a touchstone of many of the theories blaming Israel for the crisis.

In the post, he sarcastically offered that Israel stop funding NGO’s calling for the Spanish exclaves Ceuta and Melilla to be given to Morocco, if Spain stops “funding NGOs in our country that call us to give away Judea and Samaria.”

Other members of the informal group of anti-Israel activists on the American political right, sometimes dubbed the “woke right” or “woke reich,” also piled in.

Republicans paid $40 MILLION of your tax dollars to Morocco to invade Spain.

And then they all pretended like borders matter and clutched their pearls like invasions are offensive.

R’s and D’s are the same and the Uniparty has put us in $40 T in debt and Americans LAST. https://t.co/MZyOF2OOcc

— Former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@FmrRepMTG) August 2, 2026

Former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene blamed the “uniparty,” which, according to conspiracy theorists, is the unified bloc of elites running the U.S., with Israel (or the Jews) often being seen as the ultimate puppet master directing it.

Without making that part explicit, Greene claimed that “Republicans paid $40 MILLION of your tax dollars to Morocco to invade Spain,” echoing the insinuation made by Rep. Thomas Massie, who wrote on 𝕏 that “2 weeks before migrants from Morocco invaded Ceuta, the GOP (Republican Party) passed a bill with $40 million for Morocco and a committee report advising: Spanish-administered cities of Ceuta and Melilla are located in Moroccan territory and remain the subject of Morocco's longstanding claim.”

We said no more foreign wars and we meant it and supported Donald Trump because he made that promise.
But he’s betrayed us all.
Our commitment is America First for all Americans, right, left, and center.
The movement has begun. pic.twitter.com/mZXadw0kBr

— Former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@FmrRepMTG) August 1, 2026

Conspiracy czar Alex Jones shared a theory saying that “Israel launched an Islamic invasion of Spain,” while also writing that “people who are in denial about the fact that the Trump administration gave the green light for the Moroccan Islamic, invasion of Spanish territory are living in fantasyland.”

On the other side of the political horseshoe, far-left figures were not ashamed to raise similar accusations.

Spanish influencer Ana Alcalde, known as “Gaza Barbie” after participating in one of the recent flotillas, said the crisis in the Spanish cities was part of an Israeli “plan to take down a progressive government like the one of [Prime Minister] Pedro Sanchez.”

Israel Derangement Syndrome is real.

It’s a sickness. Piker is sick in the head. https://t.co/ogvwAjqZDb

— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) August 3, 2026

Hasan Piker, a radical left-wing activist who has praised Hezbollah in the past and recently surged in popularity, revealed that the theories are “not even on some conspiracy sh*t either, like the New York Times is openly covering it as such... it was classic Israel in the way that they did it, in the shameless way that they took ownership over it... even the NYT was like ok well now we have to investigate.”

“Israel and America got the Moroccan government to send like 40,000 [people] into Spanish-administered territory,” he concluded.

Piker also falsely claimed that Israeli envoys “posted about it,” presumably referring to comments made by Israel’s UN Ambassador, Danny Danon.

Former Human Rights Watch director Kenneth Roth also speculated that Israel might be behind the incident, arguing that “If Iran can control the Strait of Hormuz, Spain could easily control the Strait of Gibraltar and potentially block Israeli access to the Atlantic.”

However, more sober analysts of the events have also pointed out that the massive, sudden wave of migrants suggested some kind of prior coordination.

According to the New York Times, migrants who were already near the border rushed toward the city of Ceuta after social media posts encouraged people to do so, though the report also noted that some police officers reportedly urged the migrants to cross the border.

Riboua, herself being from Morocco, wrote on 𝕏 that the country’s Interior Ministry “has officially confirmed the existence of an online campaign encouraging people to attempt to reach Ceuta. According to the ministry, the campaign falsely claimed that the border was open, that anyone who reached Ceuta would be allowed to remain, that those who swam across would face no legal consequences, and that entry was easy.”

You don’t have to be a genius OSINT expert to find out how many bots, accounts etc, were translating every single thing Sanchez was saying on welcoming migrants. The messages were spreading since May, and the Supreme Court decision regarding those who come swimming was also… https://t.co/Mk9zS6bpNG pic.twitter.com/alL3Aajhur

— Zineb Riboua (@zriboua) August 2, 2026

A report by the Spanish newspaper El Pais also confirmed that bots and accounts on Instagram, TikTok and other platforms echoed the message that the “border is open,” with Riboua noting that this coincided, maybe not incidentally, with “Throne Day, when Moroccan forces are already busy with the King’s ceremony.”

She also explained that Islamist groups could be seeking to destabilize the country through a push against the Moroccan government’s relatively pro-Western policies.

“Morocco just signed numerous partnerships with US, Morocco just launched a pipeline that will help Spain get rid of Russian gas, is negotiating a peace deal with Algeria, and is finally solving the Western Sahara issue. Morocco also doesn't benefit from this since the country is already under pressure with Sahel migration,” she wrote.

Writing on her Substack blog, Riboua emphasized that “for a long time, Islamist rhetoric in Morocco has painted Europe as a kind of promised land, a place where welfare never runs out, chances are everywhere, and prosperity comes easily, with barely any effort required. The objective has always been to weaken trust in Morocco's own institutions and steer young people toward leaving.”