Spain seethes as Moroccans cling to island

Spain, already sore over its thwarted claim to Gibraltar, writhed with humiliation yesterday following the comic-opera "invasion" by Morocco of a disputed islet off a Spanish enclave on the north African coast.

Spain dispatched a frigate to Ceuta, joining three armed patrol boats sent on Thursday, but otherwise seemed reluctant to escalate a conflict the government spokesman, Mariano Rajoy, had initially called an "incomprehensible ... act of hostility".

While Morocco flung itself into a weekend of wedding celebrations for King Mohammed VI, Spain's newly-appointed Foreign Minister, Ana Palacio, downplayed the incident, which some in the Spanish media are whipping up into a mini-Falklands crisis.

Ms Palacio said that she had phoned her Moroccan counterpart, Mohamed Benaissa, for a conversation she hoped "would help to provide a satisfactory solution". She also hoped the Moroccans would understand that their action was "incompatible" with the Spanish-Moroccan friendship treaty of 1991, "even though this is not going through its best moments".

Ms Palacio pointedly made no Spanish claim to the island of Perejil, simply urging Morocco to withdraw and "restore the status quo". Yesterday Morocco refused to budge. Ownership of the half-mile island, which the Moroccans call Leila, home to goats since the last Spanish legionary quit in the 1960s, swung from one power to the other down the centuries, and its present status is – as Spanish officials have to admit – a fudge.

Rabat justifies Thursday's seizure by 12 Moroccan gendarmes bearing two flags and two tents as an attempt to curb the trafficking of illegal immigrants and drugs across the 12-mile strait between Morocco and Spain. Its reasoning was summed up by one Moroccan yesterday: "This island is attached to our land, and has always been considered part of Morocco."

The timing has caused maximum embarrassment in Madrid, exposing a foreign policy vacuum while the new minister scrambles to settle in. The clash of claims over a rock inevitably throws up comparisons unflattering to Spain over Gibraltar, at the moment when negotiations over the British colony have stalled.

There was speculation that Rabat's seizure of the island was a cheeky warning to Madrid that it believes it has as good a case for claiming Ceuta and Melilla, Spain's other enclave in Morocco. Madrid says they are not mere colonies, such as Gibraltar, but parts of Spain whose residents opted for Spanish nationhood.

Indeed, irate Ceutis yesterday warned darkly of fears they would be next: "If they let the moros get away with this, there'll be no stopping them," said one. Irate Gibraltarians made similar dark warnings over Spain's ambitions following Jack Straw's announcement on Friday that he would press ahead with plans to share sovereignty over the Rock with Spain.

Perejil formed part of the Spanish protectorate of northern Morocco, handed back to Rabat in 1956, except for Ceuta and Melilla. Spain considered Perejil part of Ceuta, but after objections from Rabat, did not mention the islet in the final document.