Spain has decided to revoke an ammunition procurement deal with an Israeli defence company, following mounting pressure from the left-wing party within the socialist (POSE) led coalition government – a move that has drawn swift criticism from Israel.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who has been among the most vocal European critics of Israel’s actions in Gaza, froze arms dealings with Israel after the conflict erupted following the deadly attack launched by Hamas on Israel on 7 October 2023. ALSO READ: Spain hosts meeting to discuss Israel-Palestinian two-state solution.
The Spanish Interior Ministry initially moved to scrap a €6.8 million ammunition contract with Israeli company IMI Systems, represented in Spain by Guardian Homeland Security, which was set to supply bullets for Spain’s Guardia Civil police.
However, on Wednesday, the ministry announced it had dropped plans to annul the agreement after legal advisers warned against it, citing the deal’s advanced stage of execution. Terminating it at that point would mean Spain would still have to pay – despite receiving no ammunition.
This U-turn sparked backlash from Sumar, an umbrella group of left-wing parties – and Sánchez’s junior coalition partner – which denounced the shift as ‘a blatant violation’ of the government’s commitment to suspend arms trade with Israel.
Sumar called for the immediate cancellation of the contract, while the leader of the umbrella platform’s United Left group said he and his colleagues would not tolerate ‘any part of the executive financing a genocidal state’. Israel denies allegations of genocide, which are being reviewed by the International Court of Justice in a case first brought by South Africa. ALSO READ: Spain asks to join South Africa’s case at UN court accusing Israel of genocide.
A day later, the government said the deal would be ‘unilaterally’ cancelled.
‘The investment board for dual-use material will deny this company permission to import this equipment to our country for reasons of general interest and, immediately afterwards, the interior ministry will terminate the contract,’ a statement said.
Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Díaz (main image) of Sumar claimed she had ‘negotiated’ personally with both the prime minister and the Interior Minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, to ensure the deal’s cancellation.
Spain ‘cannot buy arms from a government that massacres the Palestinian people’, she stated in remarks to the press.
According to Gaza’s health ministry, Israel’s military operations in the region have led to over 50,000 deaths in the densely populated strip.
In response, Israel condemned the cancellation, accusing Spain of letting political motives override matters of security.
Spain ‘continues to stand on the wrong side of history – against the Jewish state that is defending itself from terrorist attacks,’ Israel’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
The controversy also follows Sánchez’s recently announced increase in Spain’s defence spending to 2% of GDP – meeting the NATO threshold – years earlier than previously scheduled. The target, once set for 2029, was advanced amid pressure from the United States. ALSO READ: Pedro Sánchez announces €10.5bn more in defence spending, to reach 2% of GDP.
Sánchez’s minority government has found it challenging to push through legislation, relying on a coalition of left-leaning and regional separatist factions that often oppose NATO and US-aligned foreign policy.
Spain’s main right-wing opposition, the People’s Party (PP), also weighed in against the contract’s cancellation.
‘When a state concludes a contract with another state, it must be respected,’ said PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo. ‘What is the price of cancelling this contract? Who is going to pay it?’
The initial Hamas assault killed 1,218 people, most of them civilians, according to Israeli data. 251 hostages were also taken, with 58 still in Gaza – 34 of whom the Israeli military believes to be dead.
Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has triggered a humanitarian disaster, with the death toll now at 51,355, the vast majority civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry – a figure deemed credible by the United Nations.
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