Madrid – The Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, has unveiled sweeping new sanctions on Israel, including a complete arms embargo and a prohibition of ships transporting fuel to the Israeli military.
On Monday, Sanchez declared the actions were to halt the genocide in Gaza and support the Palestinian population, formalizing a de facto ban in effect since October 2023.
The nine-measure package is set to be approved by the Spanish cabinet and ratified by parliament, which further cemented the role of Spain in becoming one of the most vocal advocates of the Israeli military campaign in Europe.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the move is aimed at “stopping the genocide in Gaza” and “supporting the Palestinian population”.
In a speech posted on his official X account, he said, “There is a difference between defending your country and bombing hospitals or starving innocent children.”
“This is an unjustifiable attack on the civilian population. Sixty thousand dead, two million displaced, half of them children. This is not self-defense … it is the extermination of a defenseless people.”
Comprehensive Measures and International Law
The core of the new package is the royal decree law that legalizes a freeze on the importation and exportation of weapons, ammunition, and military equipment to Israel.
They are not only confined to military equipment, but the ships that deliver fuel to the Israeli army are banned from docking at the Spanish ports, and the aircraft that carry defense equipment are denied airspace.
Spain will also refuse entry to those people who were directly engaged in genocide, human rights violations, and war crimes in Gaza, which may include Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government officials.
This specific step directly connects to the International Criminal Court (ICC), which issued an arrest warrant to Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on November 21, 2024, on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The allegations also involve the employment of starvation as a method of warfare and purposefully targeting civilians. The ruling by the ICC has legally bound its member states to arrest the Israeli leaders in case they step into their territory.
This stands in sharp contrast to the United States, one of the main allies of Israel, which has sanctioned ICC prosecutor Karim Khan due to his actions.
Other measures declared by the government of Spain include prohibiting imports of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, as these settlements are considered illegal under international law.
Sanchez promised a new EUR10 million grant to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in Palestine Refugee (UNRWA) in a gesture to contribute more humanitarian assistance to Gaza, raising Spain’s overall contributions to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza to EUR150 million by 2026.
This is amidst the current funding crisis UNRWA is experiencing after Israel accused the agency that some of its employees had a role to play in the October 7 attacks.
Quick Condemnation by Israel
The government of Israel was prompt to criticize the actions of Spain. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned the actions as anti-Semitic and accused the socialist administration of Sanchez of spearheading a hostile anti-Israel policy, with uncontrolled hate speech.
Israel banned two of Spain’s Ministers from entering the country. Israeli Foreign Minister said in a post on X that Israel had banned Spain’s Labour Minister, Yolanda Díaz, and Youth Minister Sira Rego from entering the country.
In reaction, the Foreign Ministry of Spain denied the charges, recalling its ambassador in Israel to consultations.
The statement of the ministry stated that “strongly rejects the false and slanderous accusations of antisemitism made by the Israeli government” and that it would “not be intimidated in its defense of peace, international law and human rights”.
This diplomatic row mirrors an earlier one in August when Israel made similar claims against French President Emmanuel Macron and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese following their decisions to recognize a Palestinian state.
The official recognition of a Palestinian state by Spain in May 2024 was a big step, becoming one of only a handful of European countries to do so.
