Spain cancels $1.1B worth of Israeli arms deals

MADRID

Spain has canceled two contracts with Israeli companies worth almost €1 billion (approximately $1.18 billion) in a move followed by the prime minister's recently announced measures against Tel Aviv.

The Defense Ministry has canceled contracts with Israeli defense companies for the purchase of Silam high-mobility rocket launchers and the Spike L.R. anti-tank missile system.

Silam rocket launchers worth €700 million ($826 million) from Rheinmetall Expal Munitions and EM&E, as well as a deal to purchase 168 Spike missiles worth €287.5 million ($339 million), were given to PAP Tecnos Innovacion SA, the Spanish subsidiary of Israeli company Rafael.

The government is finalizing the move, which is expected to be approved next week, Spanish news agency EFE reported on Monday, citing government sources.

Meanwhile, the Defense Ministry is working on a plan for military technological disengagement with Israel, as well as alternatives.

Last week, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced nine measures to stop what he called genocide in Gaza, including barring extremist Israeli Cabinet ministers from Spain, imposing a permanent weapons embargo, and banning imports from the occupied Palestinian territories.

Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza has killed nearly 65,000 Palestinians since October 2023 and devastated the enclave, which faces famine.

A UN inquiry released on Tuesday found that Israel’s war on Gaza is a genocide. "It is clear that there is an intent to destroy the Palestinians in Gaza through acts that meet the criteria set forth in the Genocide Convention," said Navi Pillay, chair of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Israel is separately facing a genocide case at the International Court of Justice over its war in the territory.