Spain gave Israeli defense firms 46 contracts since Gaza war despite govt pledge – report

Spain has awarded 46 contracts worth more than one billion euros ($1.2 billion) to Israeli defense firms since the outbreak of the Gaza war, breaking the leftist government’s pledge not to trade arms with Israel, researchers say.

Their conclusions come after a now-cancelled deal with an Israeli company to supply bullets to the Spanish Civil Guard rocked the Socialist-led minority coalition government this week.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, one of the most outspoken critics of Israel’s military operations in Gaza, halted weapons transactions with Israel after the start of the war following Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

But according to Centre Delas, a Barcelona-based left-wing think tank specializing in security and defense, the government has granted 46 contracts worth 1,044,558,955 euros ($1.2 billion) to Israeli companies based on data published on a public tenders platform.

Of the 46 contracts, which include deals for rocket launchers and missiles, 10 have not been formalized, the think tank says in a statement that previews an upcoming report.

“It is clearly demonstrated that the government lied, there was no pledge, that was pure propaganda,” report co-author Eduardo Melero tells AFP.

Although some contracts were to maintain or modernize previously acquired products, others were new deals that “could increase the dependence… on an industry essential to perpetrate a genocide,” Centre Delas alleges.

Israel vehemently rejects accusations that its war against Hamas in Gaza constitutes genocide, saying it targets terror groups embedded in the civilian population and takes far-reaching steps to minimize harm to innocents.