Spain cancels contract to buy ammunition from Israeli company due to war on Gaza

Spain's Interior Ministry said Tuesday it had cancelled a contract to buy ammunition from an Israeli company, in line with Madrid's continued calls for the international community to stop selling weapons to Israel, which it uses in its crimes and violations in Gaza and Lebanon.

Cadena Ser radio had earlier reported that the Spanish Civil Police Guard had agreed to buy more than 15 million 9mm rounds of ammunition for six million euros ($6.48 million) from the Israeli company Guardian Ltd.

"The Spanish government remains committed to not selling weapons to Israel since the beginning of the armed conflict in the Gaza Strip," the ministry said in a statement. "Although in this case it concerns the purchase of ammunition, the Ministry of the Interior has initiated administrative procedures to cancel the purchase."

She added that Israeli companies would be excluded from any tenders that had not yet been decided. She said that the tender for the contract was issued in February and was awarded on October 21, with an Israeli company being awarded two out of three shares.

On October 11, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called on the international community to stop selling weapons to Israel, after a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican.

"I think there is an urgent need, given everything that is happening in the Middle East, for the international community to stop exporting weapons to the Israeli government," Sanchez told reporters. The Spanish prime minister also condemned attacks on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon.

On October 15, Sanchez urged the rest of the European Union member states to respond to a request from Spain and Ireland to suspend the free trade agreement between the bloc and Israel because of what it is doing in Gaza and Lebanon.

For several months, Spain and Ireland have been in talks with other EU countries that want to review the EU-Israel Association Agreement on the grounds that the latter "may be violating the human rights clause in the agreement."

Sanchez had previously affirmed his full support for the Palestinian cause last month, saying, "Spain recognized the State of Palestine on May 28. Why is this a good thing? Because Palestine exists and has the right to have its own state." He added, "A state living side by side with the State of Israel in peace and security is the only way to move forward towards a solution that will bring stability to the region and the world as a whole."

After more than a year, the Israeli occupation continues its war of extermination in the Gaza Strip, resulting in more than 43 thousand martyrs, most of them children and women, and more than ten thousand missing, amidst massive destruction and famine that claimed the lives of dozens of children, in one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world.

At the same time, the Israeli occupation army continues its extensive aggression against Lebanon for the 35th consecutive day, while the Lebanese Hezbollah continues to confront the occupation army's attempts to penetrate the towns of southern Lebanon.

Source: Reuters + Al-Araby Al-Jadeed