Javier Bardem at the 2025 Emmy Awards. Photo: REUTERS/Daniel Cole

Oscar-winning Spanish actor Javier Bardem agreed with journalist Mehdi Hasan that the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina could be viewed as a “proxy” contest between Palestinians and Israel, before accusing the Jewish state of committing “full genocide” and calling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “war criminal.”

Bardem attended Sunday’s FIFA World Cup final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, where Spain defeated Argentina 1-0 to capture its second championship and its first since 2010. Ferran Torres scored the match’s only goal in the 106th minute.

Hours later, Bardem joined Hasan, founder and editor-in-chief of the left-wing media outlet Zeteo, for a live online discussion from his hotel room.

Hasan asked whether the match had become “almost a proxy for Israel versus Palestine,” citing Argentine President Javier Milei’s outspoken support for Israel and the backing Argentina received from Netanyahu and members of his government. Hasan contrasted them with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, whose government has strongly supported the Palestinians and repeatedly accused Israel of committing “genocide” in the Gaza Strip.

“Rightly and wrongly, because also political leaders don’t represent their people,” Bardem replied.

“But it’s true that at this high level of encountering and conflict, it’s true that when a president is supporting so openly a person who is a war criminal like Netanyahu, then you want to really support the other team,” he added.

Bardem argued that Milei’s political views should not be attributed to all Argentinians, just as US President Donald Trump does not represent every American.

“I don’t think it’s fair because there are many people from Argentina that really don’t support Milei, as many people in the States that don’t support Trump,” he said.

Bardem then repeated his allegation that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, claiming that its actions against Palestinians have generated an international backlash.

“I am glad that the shift is happening in the people’s reaction towards, in this case, genocide and war crimes,” he said. “I think it’s because the actions that we’ve been witnessing through all these years towards the Palestinian population are so atrocious, they are so horrible to understand or make sense of, that anybody with minimal common sense understands that this is wrong.”

The actor nevertheless condemned the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israel and said those responsible should also face justice.

“I think those who belong to Hamas and committed those horrible crimes are also war criminals, and they should be judged and brought into justice,” Bardem said. “I don’t know if there are any left of them. But there is no reason to kill any civilians in any place in the world.”

Later in the interview, Bardem claimed that Israel had enjoyed “crazy impunity” for its conduct in both Gaza and the West Bank.

“It is absolutely legit to criticize a government that is committing such a crime like Israel in Palestine or the West Bank, which is actually crazy to see the impunity that they are having,” he said. “And that is what is creating a worldwide level of reaction on the people.”

Bardem has repeatedly accused Israel of genocide and used prominent public appearances to advocate for the Palestinian cause.

Israel has categorically rejected genocide allegations, arguing that its military campaign is directed against Hamas and other terrorist groups rather than the Palestinian population. The International Court of Justice is still considering South Africa’s genocide case against Israel and has not issued a final ruling on whether genocide occurred.

The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in 2024 over allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Israeli leader rejects the charges and has not been tried or convicted.