The Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party, or PSOE, has announced its support for a legislative initiative aimed at establishing an arms embargo against Israel. This decision aligns with a proposal from Sumar, ERC, Podemos, and BNG, which arrives in Congress amidst ongoing military escalations in Gaza. The initiative seeks to ban any resources that could bolster the Israeli military’s capacity to act against the Palestinian population, including military-grade crowd control equipment and fuels. The debate will take place in Congress on Tuesday.

Support for the embargo is expected to be strengthened by the Junts party, which has pledged its votes in favour, citing respect for human rights. If passed, this legislation will amend Spain’s foreign trade laws to halt military contracts with countries accused of genocide or crimes against humanity, a classification applicable to Israel under current circumstances.

Moreover, Sumar has been urging PSOE to support this initiative, arguing that Spain should not collaborate with a state accused of genocide. Verónica Martínez, Sumar’s spokesperson in Congress, expressed her satisfaction with the PSOE’s support, attributing it to the collective efforts of her party to drive a shift in PSOE’s stance on this matter.

In contrast, Defence Minister Margarita Robles clarified that Spain has not purchased arms from Israel since the seventh of October, twenty twenty-three, when Israel intensified its offensive in Gaza. She emphasised the nature of existing contracts with Israel, stating that they are not related to arms but involve technology licenses. This has sparked criticism from other parties regarding the nature and scope of Spain’s military dealings with Israel.