Spain cancels Israeli arms deal in U-turn after coalition tensions

The Spanish government has decided to unilaterally terminate a contract for the purchase of ammunition from Israeli company IMI Systems.

The planned procurement of over 15 million bullets by the interior ministry had triggered a rift between Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's Socialists and their junior coalition partners Sumar, with one of the PM's deputies, Sumar leader Yolanda Díaz, describing the deal as a  "flagrant violation" of the agreements reached between the two governing parties.

A government source confirmed on Thursday that Spain's defense and dual-use export control board will deny the Israeli weapons manufacturer an import license for the ammunition "for reasons of public interest." 

"Immediately afterward, the interior ministry will cancel the contract," the source said.

Díaz welcomes news

"We have stopped a contract that violated international law," Díaz said on Thursday, adding that she had been personally negotiating with Sánchez and interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska.

"The government of Spain does not do business with a genocidal government that is massacring the Palestinian people," Díaz added.

Joint decision

The decision is intended to put an end to tensions between the Socialists and Sumar within the executive, as well as internal criticism from within Yolanda Díaz's multi-party leftwing political platform. Díaz herself had stated that there was "no crisis" within the government.

The decision to cancel the contract was made jointly by the prime minister's office, the office of the second deputy prime minister (Yolanda Díaz) and the relevant ministries, "after all negotiation channels had been exhausted," the government source said.

The State Attorney's Office and the government are "already studying possible legal reactions and claims" that may arise from the case.

"The progressive coalition parties are firmly committed to the Palestinian cause and to peace in the Middle East," the government source said. "For this reason, since October 7, 2023, Spain has neither purchased nor sold weapons to Israeli companies."

Furthermore, "it will not do so in the future either," because the ongoing procurement processes were initiated before this date, and "those involving arms will not be carried out."

Crisis averted

The decision should bring an end to the rift triggered by the interior ministry’s contract, after an official announcement that no new weapons will be purchased from Israel, a response to its military action in Gaza.

Sumar voiced opposition to the €14.5 billion defense spending announced by Sánchez in order to meet the NATO target of 2% of GDP by 2025. Tensions escalated further when it emerged that the interior ministry was going ahead with a deal to purchase 15.3 million bullets from Israel for Spain's Guardia Civil police force.

On October 7, 2023, the Spanish government pledged not to make new arms purchases from Israel. However, on February 2, 2024, the contract was put out to tender and was awarded on October 21.

Just seven days later, on October 29, the government announced it had begun the process to cancel the contract, but, according to the interior ministry, it went ahead because "canceling it would have meant paying the company without receiving the contracted goods."

The decision sparked outrage from Sumar, with Díaz demanding that interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska make an urgent appearance in Congress.

One of the factions that make up Sumar – Izquierda Unida (IU) – called for Grande-Marlaska to resign and hinted at the possibility of abandoning government.

Later, both Sumar and IU softened their tone, saying that leaving the government was "not on the table."