Spain imposes total arms embargo on Israel to stop ‘genocide in Gaza’

Socialist PM Sanchez announces 9 measures that request to beryllium approved by the furniture and aboriginal ratified by parliament.

Spain has announced sweeping measures against Israel, including a full arms embargo, with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez saying the determination is aimed astatine “stopping the genocide successful Gaza” and “supporting the Palestinian population”.

“There is simply a quality betwixt defending your state and bombing hospitals oregon starving guiltless children,” Sanchez, 1 of the astir vocal critics of Israel’s subject run successful Gaza, said successful a code posted from his authoritative X account.

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“This is an unjustifiable onslaught connected the civilian population. Sixty 1000 dead, 2 cardinal displaced, fractional of them children. This is not self-defence … it is the extermination of a defenceless people.”

Central to the package, unveiled connected Monday, is simply a royal decree instrumentality that volition beryllium approved by Spain’s furniture and aboriginal ratified by parliament. The measurement formalises what has been successful effect since October 2023: a prohibition connected the acquisition and merchantability of weapons, ammunition and subject instrumentality to Israel.

Spain volition besides prohibit ships carrying substance for the Israeli service from docking astatine its ports, contradict airspace entree to craft transporting defence material, and barroom introduction to individuals “directly progressive successful genocide, quality rights violations and warfare crimes” successful Gaza, a regularisation that could use to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his government.

Netanyahu and his erstwhile Defence Minister Yoav Gallant person been issued an apprehension warrant for warfare crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC), but respective European leaders person faced disapproval for refusing to execute the ICC warrant. The United States, the closest state of Israel and its main subject funder, has adjacent slapped sanctions connected ICC authoritative Karim Khan.

Other steps see banning imports from Israeli settlements successful the occupied West Bank and Sanchez pledging 10 cardinal euros ($11.7m) successful caller backing to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and a full of 150 cardinal euros ($176m) successful humanitarian assistance for Gaza by 2026.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned Spain’s measures arsenic “anti-Semitic” and accused Sanchez’s socialist authorities of starring a “hostile anti-Israel line, with uncontrolled and hateful rhetoric”.

Israel’s leaders person often conflated disapproval of its quality rights violations and maltreatment against Palestinians with anti-Semitism. Similar charges were levelled against French President Emmanuel Macron and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese successful August aft they announced designation of the Palestinian authorities and called for an extremity to the warfare successful Gaza.

Israel besides announced it would barroom 2 Spanish ministers from entering the country.

Madrid swiftly rejected the allegations, summoning its ambassador successful Israel backmost for consultations. Spain’s Foreign Ministry said it “strongly rejects the mendacious and slanderous accusations of antisemitism made by the Israeli government” and that it would “not beryllium intimidated successful its defence of peace, planetary instrumentality and quality rights”.

“The measures relating to the inhumane concern successful Gaza and the West Bank, announced contiguous by the President of the Spanish Government, bespeak the bulk sentiment of Spanish nine and are adopted wrong the model of its sovereignty and successful enactment with its defence of peace, quality rights and planetary law,” the ministry added.

Spain formally recognised a Palestinian authorities successful May 2024, joining a fistful of European nations to bash so.

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies