Spain is the favorite to win the tournament next summer.
Spanish government officials have suggested they could withdraw their national team from the 2026 World Cup.
The world's biggest soccer tournament will take place next summer in Canada, Mexico and the United States - for the first time hosted by three countries together.
European champions Spain are the main betting favorites to win the trophy and are well on their way to qualifying, having won two of their first two qualifying matches.
But there are already suggestions that Luis de la Fuente's team could withdraw from the World Cup in protest if Israel manages to qualify.
Israel is currently in third place in its qualifying group, with a realistic chance of securing at least a play-off spot. They are six points behind leaders Norway, but level on points with second-place Italy, with three games remaining.
Only the group winner automatically qualifies for the World Cup, while the second place has a chance for the play-offs, depending on the results of the other groups.
Spanish government: Israel should be excluded from international sport
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has called for Israel to be banned from international sporting competitions because of its actions in Gaza.
Earlier this week, Sanchez said Israel should be treated the same as Russia, which was expelled from FIFA and UEFA after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
"Israel cannot continue to use any international platform to whitewash its image," Sanchez said before representatives of the Socialist Workers' Party.
A UN investigative commission said Tuesday it has "strong reasons" to conclude that four of the five acts of genocide, under international law, were committed by Israel in Gaza.
The current conflict began with Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 64,964 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry - figures which are considered reliable by the UN.
Israel's Foreign Ministry has categorically rejected the UN report as "distorted and false," while Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has called Sanchez "a disgrace" for his comments.
Could Spain boycott the 2026 World Cup?
The spokesman for the Socialist Group in the Spanish Congress, Patxi Lopez, has suggested that the government could vote to boycott the World Cup if Israel qualifies and is allowed to participate.
This comes after public broadcaster RTVE has also threatened to boycott the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest if Israel participates – following the example of the Netherlands, Ireland, Slovenia and Iceland.
Reinforcing Sanchez's comments, Lopez called on sports organizations to "exclude" Israel from competitions, as happened with Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.
Asked whether Spain would withdraw if Israel participated in the World Cup, Lopez told COPE: "We will consider it later" and that a request could be made "in due time" if measures are not taken against Israel.
Government spokeswoman and Sports Minister Pilar Alegria has also called for Israel to be excluded from international competitions due to the worsening situation in Gaza.
"Sport is not and cannot be an island independent of what happens in the real world, especially when the real world shows us that human rights are being destroyed," she said.
FIFA and UEFA have yet to publicly react to the comments made by Sanchez, Lopez and Alegria. /GazetaExpress/
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