Spaniards demand end to arms deals with Israel

ISTANBUL

Protests and boycott calls erupted across Spain on the weekend over the country’s arms sales to Israel.

Demonstrators in cities including Barcelona, Valencia, Cartagena and the capital, Madrid, demanded that the government stop all arms trade with the country.

Spaniards took to the streets following a call from the Solidarity Network Against the Occupation of Palestine and another pro-Palestinian group demanding a halt to the transfer of weapons that fuel the genocide against Palestine and a ban on the sale of military equipment to Israel.

During the demonstration in Madrid, the crowd gathered in front of the US Embassy building and marched with Palestinian flags to the Defense Ministry building.

Chanting slogans such as “Stop the genocide in Palestine,” “Boycott Israel,” “They were hospitals, not military bases,” “Sanctions against Israel are not in sight” and “Free Palestine,” the protesters demanded the ruling leftist coalition government to “cut ties with Israel, which committed genocide and is on trial at the International Court of Justice.”

Isabel Serra Sanchez, the spokesperson for the Podemos party and a member of the European Parliament, accused the Spanish government of “lying by saying that we do not sell arms to Israel.”

Despite statements by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares and Defense Minister Margarita Robles that no ships carrying arms to Israel are allowed to stop in Spanish ports, Serra Sanchez said that arms are allowed to pass through the ports of Valencia, Barcelona and Algeciras.

“Human rights organizations show that the Spanish government's statements are an absolute lie and that arms contracts are still in place to finance Israel's genocide against the Palestinian people,” she said.

*Writing by Efe Ozkan