Spain cancels €700 million arms deal with Zionist regime over genocide

The deal cancelled on Monday, worth nearly €700 million, would have seen Spain buying Israeli-designed rocket launchers from Elbit Systems.

The move comes after Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced last week that his government would "consolidate in law" a ban on military equipment sales or purchases with Zionist regime over its offensive in Gaza.

Madrid has also scrapped another contract, valued at €287 million, to buy anti-tank missile launchers, which were to be manufactured under license from an Israeli company.

On Monday, Sanchez also called for Zionist regime to be barred from international sports over the Gaza war.

He expressed "deep admiration" for thousands of protesters who forced the halt of the final stage of the Vuelta a España, one of the world's biggest cycling races, in Spain on Sunday.

Relations between Spain and the Zionist regime were already tense, as Madrid has emerged as one of Europe's strongest critics of the Gaza genocide.

Premier Sanchez recently declared a series of measures that he said were aimed at preventing Israel's genocide in Gaza.

The measures included an entry ban on “all those people participating directly in the genocide, the violation of human rights and war crimes in the Gaza Strip.”

Additional measures include an embargo on goods produced in Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Sanchez has condemned Europe’s double standards regarding Gaza and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, calling the international response to the genocide “a failure.”

He described the reaction to Zionist regime's genocidal assault on Gaza as “one of the darkest episodes of international relations in the 21st century.”

Spain’s stance marks a broader policy shift in recent years, deepening after Israel's genocidal campaign in Gaza began on October 7, 2023.

Since November 2023, Spain has suspended arms export licenses to Israel, citing concerns that such sales could contribute to violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza.

Spain has also pressed the European Union (EU) to reconsider the EU-Israel Association Agreement, arguing that Israel’s actions in Gaza breach the accord’s human rights clause.