Spanish Parliament Approves Arms Embargo on Israel

(Patria) - Spanish lawmakers yesterday approved the legal consolidation of an arms embargo on Israel that Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez introduced to end what he called the "genocide in Gaza".

Parliament supported the decree announced by Sanchez, one of the world leaders most critical of Israel's devastating two-year war on the Palestinian territory, with 178 votes in favour and 169 against, AFP reported.

The support of the far-left Podemos party, which has four deputies and had criticised the decree, helped tip the vote in favour of the left-wing minority coalition after days of speculation about the stance of its lawmakers.
The government says it has already banned the purchase of weapons from Israel or their sale to Israel since the start of the war, triggered by Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israeli soil on October 7, 2023.

But Sanchez announced a decree last month for the "legal consolidation" of the embargo as part of a series of measures against the Israeli offensive.

"Israel's response to the terrible attacks perpetrated by the terrorist group Hamas on October 7, 2023, has ultimately turned into a indiscriminate attack on the Palestinian population that most experts have called genocide," reads the preamble to the law.

It prohibits all exports of defence equipment, products or technology to Israel and the import of such goods from the country. The decree also prohibits the transit of aviation fuel with potential military use and bans the advertising of products "originating from illegal colonies in Gaza and the West Bank".

The text allows the government to make exceptions for dual-use defence equipment "if the application of the ban harms general national interests".

The September announcement drew furious condemnation from Israel, which had already withdrawn its ambassador from Madrid in 2024 after Spain recognised a Palestinian state.

The vote was originally scheduled for Tuesday, but Spanish media said it was held a day later to avoid coinciding with the two-year anniversary of the Hamas attack.

The Israeli embassy in Spain criticised the initial plan, calling it a "cynical and backward decision" in a letter published late on Monday.