Israel has violated United Nations resolutions and international law for decades through its illegal occupation of Palestinian territories and an apartheid system that segregates and denies the rights of the Palestinian population. Furthermore, it has imposed a blockade on Gaza since 2007, with periodic massacres and killings of the civilian population. However, Europe and the United States, among others, have maintained special relations with Israel over the years, with arms sales, preferential trade agreements and close collaboration, which contributed to apartheid. And so, we have come this far.
Last July, the International Court of Justice demanded an end to the illegal Israeli occupation, highlighted the segregation suffered by the Palestinian population and called on UN member states to suspend trade and investments that contribute to the illegal occupation. In September, the United Nations General Assembly took up the challenge of this decision, with the same demands, through a resolution approved by a large majority.
The International Criminal Court is investigating Israel for war crimes and crimes against humanity and the International Court of Justice has issued two interim orders – which Israel has failed to comply with – in the context of the genocide trial brought by Africa South. All this, combined with the reports of the UN commissions, served to exert pressure, although insufficient, because the majority of Israel’s allied states have not collaborated as they should.
The Spanish vote in favor of the UN resolution obliges us to ask the government what measures it will adopt to respect it
Has Spain announced measures to comply with the September UN Assembly resolution, for which it voted?
Last September, the United Nations Assembly resolution – which demands an end to the illegal Israeli occupation within twelve months – was adopted with one hundred and twenty-four votes in favor, fourteen against and 43 abstentions.
The division of Europe was visible. Twelve European Union countries abstained, two voted against – Hungary and the Czech Republic – and thirteen for: Belgium, Cyprus, Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal , Slovenia.
Spain supported the resolution, which demands the suspension of trade and investments that contribute to the illegal Israeli occupation. This obliges us to ask the Spanish government what measures it will adopt to respect this suspension. The Norwegian executive asked his country’s companies to avoid this type of commercial activity with Israel. Madrid has not yet made any public requests to Spanish companies in this regard.
Did Spain impose an arms embargo on Israel?
No. The president of the Spanish government this week asked the international community to stop selling arms to Israel. However, Spain has not imposed a formal arms embargo. To do this, he must amend the Arms Trade Act, a measure that more than 500 organizations have requested before Congress, through the End the Arms Trade with Israel campaign.
An arms embargo requires setting conditions and sanctions, which helps ensure compliance.
Did Spain send military equipment to Israel after October 7, 2023?
Yes, on December 5, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, declared in Parliament that “since October 7 there has been no operation to export Spanish arms to Israel.” However, this statement was not accurate.
As elDiario.es revealed in February, Spain actually sent military equipment to Israel in October and November 2023 – when there were already thousands dead in Gaza – and continued to do so in December , January, February and April, although in these cases it was deleted in order to later re-export it to the Philippines. A Spanish company thus benefited from an agreement with an Israeli arms company to sell in a third country, the Philippines.
Data on these exports were published on the official foreign trade portal Comex, analyzed by the researcher of the Delàs Center, Alejandro Pozo, and verified by elDiario.es. According to the Spanish government, these shipments corresponded to sales concluded before October 7, 2023. Spain could have revoked or suspended them, but chose to maintain these exports for several more months.
Has Spain purchased military equipment from Israel since October 7, 2023?
Yes. The Spanish Ministry of Commerce assured in February that Spain had not adopted any measures to suspend this type of acquisitions. In April, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, declared that Spain was not carrying out any arms sales operations with Israel.
In a subsequent report, the Dèlas Center for Peace Studies noted that, “whether it was a breach or not, [lo que dijo el presidente] “It was not true, because ammunition was exported in November and December, but also because Spain continued to acquire weapons from Israeli companies.”
Last July, the Dèlas Center published a new report in which it denounces that Spain has allocated 1.027 million euros to acquire Israeli weapons since October 7, 2023.
Buying weapons from Israel helps make the occupation viable and strengthens companies involved in it
How can the purchase of Israeli weapons contribute to the illegal occupation?
The illegal occupation is very expensive and would be less viable without Israel’s arms exports. “Exporting means producing surpluses to reduce the cost per unit of product. Making one tank is not the same as making ten, ten is cheaper. In exports of military equipment, there is not only a commercial transaction, there is also a political component, of international relations: we decide to whom we sell it, to whom not”, explains the researcher and expert from the Center Dèlas Alejandro Pozo, in conversation with elDiario .is.
“Israel exports a model. By acquiring their military equipment, what is happening there is legitimized, production costs are reduced for Israeli companies, it helps make the occupation viable and it rewards the same companies that are directly involved in these actions in the territories. Palestinians, because they obtain contracts. based on this acquired experience, with combat-tested products,” he specifies.
The United Nations rapporteur for Palestine, Francesca Albanese, has been calling for an end to arms sales for some time. Here in Spain, various NGOs have asked the government for a “global embargo”, which concerns both exports, imports and acquisitions.
An embargo sets a specific horizon, can regulate purchases and force other governments to do the same.
Alejandro Pozo, Dèlas Center researcher
Is there a difference between the current situation and an arms embargo?
Yes, an embargo requires establishing conditions – what elements are included in the embargo, what is not – and a proposed sanction, which helps ensure compliance. This is a sanction in itself. Through an embargo, limits could be set not only on the export of weapons, but also on the acquisition and financing of the Israeli military industry.
“With an embargo, corresponding control mechanisms are established, researchers and journalists would not have to do the control,” explains Pozo. “So far there is a statement of intent, we have to take a leap of faith, and we already know that some of the things the government has said in the past about sending weapons to Israel are not were not true.”
For the rest, an embargo “sets a precise horizon and constitutes a tool which can force other governments to do the same”, he adds.
The world has learned that no amount of death and suffering is enough to provoke a global response to hunger and genocide.
United Nations Rapporteur on the right to food
What new measures were announced this week?
The UN’s independent Commission of Inquiry – which has been investigating the situation since 2022 – published its findings this week, saying countries are obliged by international law to end the illegal presence of Israel in the occupied Palestinian territories.
For her part, the United Nations rapporteur for Palestine, Francesca Albanese, announced that she had opened an investigation into the role of companies and private entities in supporting the illegal occupation and the Israeli genocide. All this involves pressure measures. But in the face of these efforts, and unlike what happened with Russia, the majority of countries continue to put themselves forward.
Faced with the new phase of destruction carried out by the Israeli army in the north of Gaza – with almost daily massacres of civilians – the United Nations rapporteur for the right to food, Michael Fakhri, recalled to the headquarters of UN that “exactly a year ago A few days ago, I, among other things, sounded the alarm about the risk of genocide against the Palestinian people. Unfortunately, you have not acted sufficiently and, like my colleagues As I predicted, Israel’s war has turned out to be a genocidal campaign against the Palestinian people.
Inaction during these months allowed the genocide to run its course. “What the world has learned is that no amount of death and suffering is enough to trigger a global response to hunger and genocide,” Fakhri concluded. As UN rapporteur Francesca Albanese has been saying for months, “Israel will not stop this madness until we stop it.”
