MADRID: Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday announced nine measures aimed at stopping “the genocide in Gaza”, including an arms embargo on Israel and a ban on vessels carrying fuel for the Israeli military from using Spanish ports.
The announcement marks the latest escalation of Spain’s outspoken criticism of the Israeli offensive in Gaza, which was sparked by the unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel in 2023.
The measures aim to “stop the genocide in Gaza, pursue its perpetrators and support the Palestinian population”, Sanchez said in a televised address.
He said his left-wing government would approve a decree to “consolidate in law” a ban on military equipment sales or purchases with Israel, a measure it had applied since the start of the conflict.
Boats carrying fuel destined for the Israeli military will be barred from Spanish ports, and Spain will act to reduce the transport of military equipment to Israel by air, Sanchez said.
“All those people participating directly in the genocide, the violation of human rights and war crimes in the Gaza Strip” will be banned from entering Spanish territory, he added.
Spain will also ban the importation of products from “illegal settlements” in the Palestinian territories with the aim of stopping “the forced displacement of the Palestinian population” and supporting the two-state solution, Sanchez said.
Consular services for Spanish citizens residing in illegal Israeli settlements will be limited “to the legally obligatory minimum assistance”, he said.
Sanchez also announced new collaboration projects in agriculture, food security and medical aid to support the Palestinian Authority and additional humanitarian funds for Palestinians.
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Sanchez has been one of the most outspoken critics of Israel’s war in Gaza, becoming the most senior European leader to refer to the conflict as a “genocide”.
His leftist government broke with European allies last year by recognising a Palestinian state, infuriating Israel.
The Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 64,368 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable.
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