Madrid escalates its diplomatic feud with Jerusalem as Spain’s parliament prepares to debate an arms embargo on Israel — a move critics call political theater, timed to coincide with the anniversary of Hamas’s October 7 massacre.
Spain’s hostility toward Israel is set to deepen next week, as the Spanish parliament debates a proposal to impose an arms embargo on the Jewish state, Kan 11 News reported Wednesday. The measure would ban both the sale and purchase of weapons from Israel, marking a direct challenge to one of Europe’s leading defense innovators and a close U.S. ally.
The timing of the debate — October 7, the anniversary of Hamas’s brutal massacre in southern Israel — has drawn outrage, with critics charging that Spain is rewarding terrorism by targeting Israel rather than its attackers.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has emerged as one of the most outspoken critics of Israel in Europe, repeatedly accusing Jerusalem of “genocide” and “indiscriminate killings” in Gaza. His rhetoric has strained relations with Israel for nearly two years. In November 2023, Spain’s ambassador was summoned for rebuke after Sanchez claimed Israel was “violating international law.” By April 2024, Sanchez went further, calling Israel’s military campaign a “disproportionate response” that risked “destabilizing the entire world.”
The proposal’s passage, however, is far from guaranteed. Even members of Sanchez’s own left-wing coalition have dismissed it as a “fake embargo”, pointing to the fact that Spain’s actual defense trade with Israel is limited and already constrained by prior cancellations — including Madrid’s September decision to scrap a €700 million deal for 12 Israeli-made SILAM rocket launchers developed by Elbit Systems.
Israeli officials have dismissed the move as political posturing at the expense of security realities. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar has stressed that Spain’s actions undermine European credibility by demonizing Israel while turning a blind eye to Hamas atrocities and Iranian aggression.
Observers warn that Spain’s symbolic embargo, if passed, will embolden anti-Israel campaigns in the EU, risk further diplomatic isolation for Madrid, and send a dangerous signal to Hamas and its regional backers that terror is rewarded with international leverage.
