Spain will purchase combat-tested Israeli army materials price €207 million at a time when the Iberian nation additionally promised to recognise a Palestinian state and minimize army exports to Israel. Decisionmakers in Madrid justify chopping exports to Israel resulting from “massacres” towards Palestinians, however on the identical time, export weapons to Ukraine, contributing to the bloodbath of civilians in japanese Europe.
The Ministry of Defence of Spain, by means of the Normal Subdirectorate of Acquisitions of Weapons and Supplies, has initiated the acquisition of Israeli-made weapons by awarding a contract to Rafael Superior Defence Programs, one of many three largest military-industrial corporations in Israel, to equip the Air Pressure’s Eurofighter Litening V fleet. Within the award announcement, Rafael was claimed to be “the one one technically certified to develop the challenge from a technical standpoint” because it included the usage of laser-guided precision munitions.
It additionally occurs that the Litening V laser pods by Rafael have been used for months in Israel’s bombing marketing campaign of Gaza, which has prompted greater than 31,000 deaths up to now. Like nearly all of the conflict materials that Israel normally exports, the Litening V laser pods are weapon help tools whose producers boast of their “fight confirmed” standing resulting from their effectiveness towards the Palestinians.
Spanish International Affairs Minister José Manuel Albares introduced on a couple of event the “whole embargo” on the export of weapons to Israel. The contract awarded to Rafael clearly issues an import and never an export, and, on this method, Spain’s advantage indicators towards Israel while nonetheless benefitting from its military-industrial complicated.
Nonetheless, based on a research by the Delàs Middle for Peace Research, Israeli weapons imports carry a better severity than army exports to Tel Aviv. In impact, the acquisition of army materials from Israel strengthens the nation’s army and safety mannequin and, extra importantly, contributes to subduing the Palestinians, which Israel makes economically viable with the sale of its combat-tested army merchandise.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez says he’s going to recognise Palestine as an unbiased State and that he considers what Israel is committing within the Gaza Strip “an indiscriminate bloodbath,” however then he continues to purchase weapons from Israel. Subsequently, it isn’t possible to grant any sort of credibility to the statements of the members of the Spanish authorities.
Final November, Sánchez vowed to prioritise the popularity of Palestinian statehood as its principal overseas coverage precedence. Nonetheless, when talking after a summit in Brussels on March 22, he recommended to reporters that Spain would coordinate with different EU nations as a substitute of unilaterally making the choice to recognise Palestinian statehood.
“We need to take this step united. It’s a decisive step with the intention to lay the foundations of a long-lasting peace,” he mentioned in an evident U-turn, including that the EU ought to “fastidiously calibrate” the fitting second to take the step.
On the identical time, earlier than the Congressional Defence Fee, the Secretary of State for Commerce reported on the checklist of shipments of army materials to Ukraine between March 2022 and February 2024. The quantity provided is equal to €190 million. These are primarily drones, grenade launchers, anti-tank mines, artillery ammunition, anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles, tracked autos, evening imaginative and prescient tools, and 10 Leopard 2A4 tanks.
However this checklist doesn’t have in mind a brand new batch of Leopard 2A4 battle tanks for the reason that Interministerial Board for Commerce and Management of Defence Materials and Twin-Use Applied sciences (JIMDDU) authorised the cargo of one other 19 of those armoured autos to Kiev as soon as they’re repaired and conditioned on the amenities of the Santa Bárbara Sistemas manufacturing facility within the province of Seville.
Ten of the 19 tanks have already been transferred from the Military base in Casetas close to Zaragoza, the place they had been saved. Based on army sources cited by El Heraldo de Aragón, the plan is to ship them to Ukraine on the finish of June. To this finish, the elements and spare elements crucial for its reconstruction should first be discovered, and when your complete course of is accomplished, Spain can have despatched a complete of 29 Leopard tanks to Ukraine.
Nonetheless, delivery can be sophisticated since these autos are in even worse situation than the dozen reconditioned Leopards already shipped in 2023. Spain is sending such poor-conditioned autos to Kiev to extend its rearmament as a result of the previous inventory should be disposed of earlier than shopping for new weapons and tools.
On this context, Spain justifies not exporting weapons to Israel due to the “indiscriminate bloodbath” of Palestinians however exports weapons to Ukraine, which contributes to the bloodbath of individuals in Ukraine and Russia’s newly liberated territories. Compounding the contradiction is then the truth that Spain imports army tools from Israel whereas refusing to export to the Jewish state and promising to recognise a Palestinian state.
