Spain cancels arms deal with Israeli company over Gaza war

TEHRAN (Iran News)  “The Spanish government maintains the commitment not to sell weapons to the Israeli state since the armed conflict broke out in the territory of Gaza,” Spain’s Interior Ministry announced on Tuesday.

“Although in this case it is an acquisition of ammunition, the Interior Ministry has initiated the administrative procedure to cancel the purchase,” it added.

It also said Israeli firms will be excluded from any outstanding tenders.

Spain’s Civil Guard police force reportedly agreed to purchase over 15 million nine-millimeter rounds for $6.48 million from Guardian LTD Israel.

Last week, the Spanish Defense Ministry announced that it had halted the purchase of weapons from Israel. The European country had said it would stop arms sales to Israel after the start of the war on October 7, 2023.

Hundreds of Spanish intellectuals and artists last week penned a letter to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, calling for an arms embargo on Israel.

Over 300 key figures from the media and entertainment industry, as well as academic circles, expressed deep concern over Spain’s ongoing trade in arms and military equipment with Israel, Turkey’s Anadolu Agency reported.

They “urged the government to completely suspend all kinds of trade in arms and military equipment with Israel, and “expressed deep concern about Spain’s ongoing military relations with Israel.”

On October 14, Sanchez urged other members of the EU to suspend the bloc’s free trade agreement with Israel.

“The European Commission must respond once and for all to the formal request made by two [Spain and Ireland] to suspend the association agreement with Israel if it is found, as everything suggests, that human rights are being violated,” Sanchez said.

Spain was among several countries, including Norway, Ireland, and Slovenia, that recognized Palestine as a state in late May.

In September, Madrid hosted a high-level gathering of Muslim and European states aimed at discussing ways to end Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip and formulate a timeline for the implementation of a two-state solution.

Spain was the first European state to back the case accusing Israel of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Since October 2023, the US-Israeli genocide across the besieged Gaza Strip has killed over 43,020 Palestinians and injured nearly 101,110 others.

Earlier this year, the United Nations’ top court ordered the Israeli regime to take all measures to prevent genocide in Gaza. Till now, however, all international efforts to stop the US-backed genocidal war on Gaza have been to no avail.