Spain faces criticism for getting and supplying weapons to Israel whereas publicly condemning its army operation in Gaza, with hundreds of demonstrators set to take to the streets of over 100 Spanish cities on Saturday (20 January) to ”cease the arms commerce with Israel”
Following final week’s authorized hearings within the Worldwide Court docket of Justice’s into the accusations of ’genocidal intent’ introduced in opposition to Israel by South Africa, protesters have demanded extra political motion from the Spanish authorities in solidarity with the Palestinian folks.
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Protesters gathered in Alicante, Spain (Picture: RESCOP)
Whereas Spain has been one of the vital vocal European international locations in criticising Israel’s army marketing campaign in Gaza, behind the scenes, Spain continues to arm and fund the army operation it theoretically opposes.
Spain is the world’s seventh-biggest arms exporter — primarily for its function in arming Saudi Arabia’s and the United Arab Emirates’ assaults in Yemen.
Though Israel is just not the primary vacation spot of Spanish arms, representing solely 3.5 p.c of all arms export licenses in 2020, the sum has elevated in recent times, based on the analysis centre Delàs. Amnesty Worldwide revealed that Spain accepted 22 arms exportation licenses to Israel price €44m final 12 months. These embrace fireplace management techniques, plane gear, bombs, torpedoes, and missiles.
Such exports, the Delàs centre argues, violate the EU Council place defining frequent guidelines governing management of exports of army know-how and gear, in addition to the Geneva Conventions.
Spain didn’t deny any exports to Israel till 2015. Subsequently, 5 denials have been reported since then.
Arms imports
The size of the continued Israeli offensive led the Spanish overseas affairs ministry to announce that exports to Israel would briefly stop — although that is troublesome to confirm since selections associated to arms exports are protected beneath Franco’s 1968 official secrets and techniques legislation.
”Israel is maybe the one case through which, in case you are not the US or, maybe, Germany, buying arms from a rustic may be as controversial, if no more so, than promoting them,” says Delàs researcher and armed conflicts professor Alejandro Pozo.
Israel hosts the second-largest tech ecosystem simply behind Silicon Valley, and it’s dwelling to 35 p.c of the world’s richest cyber start-ups.
”With the exceptions famous, Israel doesn’t a lot want to purchase arms as to promote its personal,” says Pozo. ”First, to make their costly occupation and wars cheaper. Secondly, with its merchandise, Israel additionally exports a mannequin, which finally ends up being legitimized”.
Within the case of Spain, nationwide media reported that, between 2011 and 2021, at the least €268m was spent on Israeli army materials.
A couple of days earlier than Israel’s army operation over Gaza began in response to Hamas terrorist assaults on 7 October, the Spanish defence ministry made official the acquisition of a whole lot of missiles by way of the Israeli firm Rafael. These spike missiles are being utilized in Gaza.
Pozo, who has been monitoring Spain-Israel’s arms commerce relations for years, advised EUobserver that, they’re conscious of solely a small portion of recent public contracts have been signed with services and products made in Israel since 7 October.
”In Spain, in Europe, and the remainder of the world, there’s particular laws associated to arms exports, however to not arms imports. There is no such thing as a obligation to publicly report on what Spain acquires from the Israeli arms trade,” he mentioned.
These weapons, Pozo argued, may additionally be produced inside the buying nations, both by way of native manufacturing with know-how switch agreements from Israeli corporations or by way of subsidiaries of those Israeli corporations based mostly within the buying international locations.
NGOs’ name
About 375 NGOs are calling on prime minister Pedro Sánchez’s socialist occasion to cease the arms commerce with Israel.
”We expect that is very consultant as a result of it reveals that almost all of the civil society agrees that arms commerce with Israel ought to finish,” Alys Samson, spokesperson of the marketing campaign ”cease the arms commerce with Israel”, tells EUobserver.
A survey revealed in December discovered that 78 p.c of Spanish folks, and 88 p.c of socialist occasion supporters, wish to droop arms commerce with Israel. Sánchez’s socialist occasion, nonetheless, has averted endorsing the marketing campaign.
”This authorities is absolutely conscious of the must be notably vigilant and to use the best doable rigour in operations concentrating on battle areas or areas the place human rights violations might happen,” a spokesperson for the secretary of state in command of commerce advised EUobserver, including that, within the case of Israel, ”no weapons or gear thought-about deadly have been approved for remaining export.”
”Spanish establishments and politicians in a approach have certainly been a few of the most outspoken within the European context” admits Alys, the marketing campaign’s spokesperson.
”It’s insupportable that the so-called most progressive authorities that Spain has ever had has not endorsed South Africa’s case on the ICJ. It’s insupportable that Spain remains to be shopping for weapons from Israel, it mustn’t purchase nor promote,” she added.
”Solidarity with Palestine can’t be restricted to gestures” agrees researcher Alejandro Pozo. ”States which are signatories to the assorted worldwide agreements are obliged not solely to adjust to but additionally to implement worldwide legislation.”
Spain will be the best-positioned Nato or EU nation to impose an arms embargo with Israel, he mentioned.