A study based on customs data from Israel says that Spain sold weapons and ammunition for 5.3 million | Spain

Between October 7, 2023, when the Hamas terrorist attack occurred that triggered the indiscriminate offensive of the Israeli army over Gaza, and last March 31, Israel has received 88 shipments from Spanish weapons and ammunition worth 5.3 million euros. This is ensured by a Center Delàs de la Paz report, which is based on the official records of Israel’s customs authority.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, he reiterated Monday in the Senate that Spain has not authorized weapons exports to Israel since the beginning of the current war escalation and that does not allow scales in Spanish ships of ships with military material to that country.

The peak of the shipments of Spanish weapons and ammunition occurred in December 2023, with exports worth 1,398 million, while since January 2024 they have remained around 200,000 euros per month, with a maximum of 491,197 euros in December and a minimum of 23,857 last January, according to the same study. Between October 2023 and January 2025, Spain is the fifth supplier of Israel among EU countries in the « Weapons and ammunition » section after Estonia, the Netherlands, Czech Republic and Sweden.

In November 2023, the Palencia factory of the Norwegian-Finland company Nammo exported ammunition to Israel worth 987,000 euros. Government sources assured that it was material without explosive, although the company acknowledged that 200 of the 12,260 cartridges were “normal”, according to the report. However, the bulk of sales of military material to Israel in 2023 responded for sale for 43 million euros of 18 armored manufactured by Santa Barbara Systems, a subsidiary of the American General Dynamics, and armed in the Hebrew country by the Elbit company, for its re -export to the Philippines; A contract signed by President Rodrigo Duterte, currently detained by the International Criminal Court (TPI) under the accusation of crimes against humanity.

From the economic point of view, Israel’s armament imports are much more relevant than exports. Until the end of last February, Spanish purchases of Israeli products under customs codes 93 (weapons and ammunition) and 8710 (tanks and combat vehicles) total 36.7 million. The authors of the study, Alejandro Pozo and Eduardo Melero, underline that 2023 and 2024 have been the years that most defense material has imported Spain from Israel in the last decade, despite the fact that these two rubrics only represent a part of the purchases.

Since October 7, 2023, Israeli companies, their subsidiaries in Spain or Spanish companies that produce under Israeli license 46 contracts worth more than 1,044 million euros have been awarded, according to the report. As an example, he quotes the case of the Spike LR Anticarro missiles, manufactured in Spain by a consortium led by Pap Tecnos, a subsidiary of the Israeli Rafael, for 237.6 million. The Silam LuncoCohetes, awarded to a consortium formed by Escribano and Rheinmetall Expall for 576 million; while the laser designators for fighters were bought from the Israeli Rafael for 207.4 million.

After knowing what The Interior Ministry had continued with the purchase to Israel of 15 million bullets for the Civil Guard, President Pedro Sánchez ordered to cancel the contract, so that the Interministerial Board in charge of authorizing the import of the ammunition will not give the green light to it, claiming “reasons of national interest”. According to Moncloa sources, The purchase processes that remain open began before October 7, 2023 and « those of weapons are not going to execute. »

The report also deals with the armament traffic for Israel through Spanish waters and airspace and remembers that in August last year The Hebrew Ministry of Defense celebrated the reception of the 500 Flight with US military suppliesto which we must add 107 ships. Although the government has denied the scale in Spanish ports of three American ships with military material for Israel, and this has cost it the Opening of a file by the Federal Maritime Commission of Washingtonthe report recalls that from 2005 to 2023 9,322 scales were authorized, none bound for the Hebrew country; And that, in application of the bilateral agreement, Spain does not ask for information about the type of weapons aboard the ships chartered by the Department of Defense and do not inspect them.

More doubts raise the authors of the report the transit of flights with military material for Israel. Although, after stopping in Spain, these airplanes « rarely continue their trip directly to Israel », the report cites the case of a super galaxy that departed on March 28, 2024 of Rota and « was last seen near Masada, Israel » before disappearing from the flight monitoring websites; or of the B752 operated by the US Air Force, which on November 14 made stop at the Cadiz base and, after a technical stop in Souda (Crete), continued trip to Tel Aviv. There are also American transport aircraft flights from Rota to the British Akrotiri (Cyprus) base, gateway to the Middle East.

In addition, ships that transported fuel for military aircraft to Israel have made transit or transford in Spanish ports and, although this product is not considered defense material, “it should be included in that category,” the authors of the investigation allege.

The report concludes that, despite the fact that the Spanish government has taken measures « that sing, positively », before the bombings of Gaza, as the recognition of the Palestinian State, « never before so many Spanish companies or settled in Spain had developed so many joint projects with Israeli companies and never before the Israeli industry had managed to adjudicate contracts of the Spanish Ministry of Defense in such an economic amount and volume. » The Ministry of Defense alleges, on the other hand, that most of these contracts have been awarded to Spanish companies and that Israeli technology incorporating some of these programs has no alternative in the market.