MADRID: The Spanish government approved Tuesday a “total” arms embargo on Israel, part of a package of measures aimed at halting what Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called “the genocide in Gaza”.
The decree prohibits all exports to Israel of defence material and dual-use products or technologies, and the import of such equipment to Spain, Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo said at a news conference.
It also blocks requests for the transit of aircraft fuel with potential military applications and bans imports of products originating from Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories, including their advertising, Cuerpo said.
“This decree is a big step forward and is pioneering at the international level when it comes to a total arms embargo on Israel,” Cuerpo told a news conference after the cabinet approved the measure. The government says the decree “consolidates in law” a ban on military equipment sales or purchases with Israel that it had applied since the start of the Israeli offensive in Gaza. The decree will come into force immediately, but it must still be approved at a later date by parliament, where Sanchez’s left-wing government lacks a majority and has struggled to pass legislation.
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