MADRID (Reuters) – Spain’s Interior Ministry said on Tuesday it was cancelling a contract to buy ammunition from an Israeli firm, widening a Spanish pledge not to sell weapons to Israel to include purchases too.
Cadena Ser radio earlier reported that the Guardia Civil police force had agreed to buy more than 15 million 9-mm rounds for six million euros ($6.48 million) from Guardian LTD Israel.
Spain said it would stop arms sales to Israel in October 2023 when Israel’s war with Hamas started in Gaza.
“The Spanish government maintains the commitment not to sell weapons to the Israeli state since the armed conflict broke out in the territory of Gaza,” it said in a statement. “Although in this case it is an acquisition of ammunition, the Interior Ministry has initiated the administrative procedure to cancel the purchase,” it said.
The ministry said that Israeli companies would also be excluded from any outstanding tenders.
The contract was tendered in February and awarded on Oct. 21, with two of the three lots awarded to an Israeli company, it added.
Spain has been one of the European Union’s harshest critics of Israel’s campaign in Gaza and more recently in south Lebanon.
Two weeks ago, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez urged other EU members to respond to Spain’s and Ireland’s request to suspend the bloc’s free trade agreement with Israel over its actions.
Israel began its offensive in Gaza in retaliation for an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants in southern Israel, in which 1,200 were killed and more than 250 taken hostage, by Israeli tallies.
That offensive broadened to include Lebanon earlier this month as Israel sought to disable Iran-backed Hezbollah, which has been waging a year-long campaign against Israel in support of its ally Hamas.
The death toll from Israel’s air and ground onslaught in Gaza has exceeded 43,000, according to the Gaza health ministry.
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(Reporting by Emma Pinedo, editing by Andrei Khalip and Sharon Singleton)
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