Spain grants Airbus exemption from its ban on using Israeli tech

Spain has granted Airbus exceptional permission to produce aircraft and drones using Israeli technology at its Spanish plants even though it banned military and dual-use products from Israel two months ago, due to its war in Gaza.

Approved last week by the cabinet and defended by several ministers this week, the exemption reflects the pressure from companies and domestic interests that some of Europe’s toughest critics of Israel’s recent war have faced, as they attempt to impose trade sanctions.

Neither Airbus nor the Spanish defense ministry was immediately available for comment.

Spain in September passed a law to take “urgent measures to stop the genocide in Gaza,” banning trade in defense material and dual-use products from Israel, as well as imports and advertising of products originating from Israeli settlements.

Its consumer ministry on Tuesday ordered seven tourist accommodation websites to remove 138 advertisements for holiday homes in “occupied Palestinian territories” or face the threat of sanctions in Spain.

Spain has already blocked 200 attempts to buy material linked to Israel, its digital transformation minister Oscar Lopez tells national broadcaster TVE.

Airbus, which employs about 14,000 people in Spain and accounts for 60 percent of its air and defense exports, was granted the first exception in a cabinet meeting last week, written minutes show, citing the “great industrial and export potential” of its aircraft “considered essential… for preserving thousands of highly skilled jobs in Spain.”