A scandal broke out in Spain: Decisions to ban arms supplies to Israel were just cheap propaganda!

Researchers confirmed Friday that Spain has awarded 46 contracts worth more than one billion Euros to Israeli defense companies since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, violating the leftist government’s pledge not to sign arms deals with Israel.

The researchers’ findings come after this week’s cancellation of a deal with an Israeli company to supply bullets to Spain’s Civil Guard rocked the ruling Socialist-led coalition.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, a prominent critic of the Israeli military operations in Gaza, suspended arms deal with Israel after the war began following Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023.

However, according to the Barcelona-based Delas Center for Security and Defense Research, the government has awarded 46 contracts worth €1,044,558,955 ($1.2 billion) to Israeli companies, based on data published on the public tenders’ platform.

The research organization said in a statement on Friday, presenting a forthcoming report, that of the 46 contracts that include deals for missile launchers and missiles, 10 haven’t yet been formally approved.

“It has been clearly proven that the government lied… There was no commitment, it was just propaganda,” Eduardo Melro, a co-author of the report said.

“While some contracts related to the maintenance or upgrade of previously purchased equipment, others were new deals that could increase reliance… on an industry essential to the commission of genocide,” according to the research Delas center’s statement.

The Delas Center report added, “Had the government approved a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel that included, among other measures, imports and a ban on contracts with Israeli defense companies or their subsidiaries, none of these contracts would have been signed”.

For its part, the Spanish Interior Ministry told AFP that it had fulfilled its commitment not to sell or purchase Israeli weapons, and that the report included contracts the government had announced it would terminate.

The Spanish Interior Ministry added that shipments of equipment intended for self-defense were included and aren’t subject to the pledge not to sign arms purchase contracts with Israeli companies.

According to Eduardo Melro, materials such as bulletproof equipment are considered defensive equipment under Spanish law, but their purchase clearly contradicts the pledge.

The Spanish Ministry of Defense didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Israel on Thursday condemned the cancellation of the contract to supply bullets to the Spanish Civil Guard, accusing the Spanish government of sacrificing security considerations for political purposes.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said, “Spain continues to stand on the wrong side of history—against the Jewish state, which is defending itself against terrorist attacks”.