In the picture
IDF Givati Brigade in eastern Rafah, May 2024 [IDF].
On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched an unprecedented surprise attack that killed more than 1,200 Israelis, making it the highest issue casualty attack in Israel's history. This offensive prompted a military operation in response, which has since claimed the lives of more than 43,000 Palestinians. A report United Nations report stated that during the first six months of the conflict some 44% of the verified casualties were children and 26% were women. Following the expansion of operations into Lebanon by Israeli forces on October 1, 2024, fears have grown among experts regarding a possible escalation that could lead to an even wider regional war.
The bombardment of Palestinian civilians, including attacks on schools and hospitals, has attracted global attention and highlighted the inaction of the international community in the face of actions taken by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government. In November 2024 the International Court of Justice has issued a warrant for Netanyahu's arrest on charges of 'genocidal conduct' formally denounced by South Africa.
Government decisions
Following the outbreak of the conflict and in response to reports published in various media about Spanish arms sales to Israel, the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation issued a statement on February 12, 2024, in which it stated that no authorization had been granted for any arms sales to Israel since October 7, 2023. In addition, on May 21, 2024, Spain denied docking permission in a Spanish port to a Danish vessel believed to be carrying explosives destined for Israel. Similarly, on November 7, 2024, it was revealed that Spain denied docking permission to another vessel in Algeciras under similar circumstances. These events further reinforced Spain's position on Israel's military action in the Gaza Strip.
Spain and Israel had been major partners in the arms trade since about 2008, when Spain began buying arms directly from Israel, with expenditures that year exceeding $10 million. This internship reportedly continued until October 2023, when the conflict in the Gaza Strip began. In response to the escalation, on October 23, 2024, Spain's Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, stated that Spain had suspended its arms purchase contracts with Israel since the outbreak of the conflict. The Ministry of Defense added that, since the beginning of the conflict, Spain had only authorized the repair of spare parts, especially aeronautical components. However, this statement was contradicted by a research published by some leftist organizations, which documented the continued purchase of military equipment from Israeli companies or their subsidiaries in Spain until 2024. Accordingly, this article will examine the arms trade between Spain and Israel after October 7, 2023.
The commercial relationship between Spain and Israel goes beyond the import and export of defense equipment. It also encompasses the awarding of contracts for products and services to Israeli companies for the armed forces, as well as collaborative initiatives between Spanish and Israeli companies aimed at accessing third markets.
Israel's arms exports are of greater importance than its imports. Alejandro Pozo, researcher of the Delàs Center at programs of study for Peace, stresses that large-scale arms exports allow Israel to increase its production capacity, which reduces the costs associated with maintaining the military occupation in Gaza. The Israeli government would have increased its monthly militaryexpense from $1.8 billion before the conflict to approximately $4.7 billion by the end of 2023. In addition, the Israeli Ministry of Defense announced in June 2024 that its defense exports had reached a record $13.1 billion.
framework legal and regulatory
Given the continuity of Spain as Israel's commercial partner in the midst of the Israel-Hamas conflict, it is crucial to understand the legal and regulatory framework involved in these transactions. In particular, the committee Common Position 2008/944/CFSP plays a fundamental role in regulating the export of military technology and equipment. This framework takes into account ethical, legal and strategic considerations.
The committee adopted this framework on December 8, 2008, and stipulates that each application of licence export submitted by an EU member state must be assessed on a case-by-case basis. The Spanish authorities must consider the particular risks that each export may entail. The scope of this case-by-case assessment covers not only physical exports of military equipment, but also brokering licenses granted to those facilitating the transfer of military goods between third parties, transit or transshipment licenses and intangible transfers of technology or software.
article 2 of framework establishes eight essential criteria that EU member states must follow when assessing applications for military arms export licenses, ensuring compliance with ethical, legal and strategic factors. In relation to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Criteria One to Six of article 2 are particularly relevant to the analysis of the trade dynamics between Spain and Israel.
Criterion One states that export licenses will be denied when they conflict with international obligations, such as UN or EU sanctions, arms embargoes by organizations such as the OSCE, or commitments arising from non-proliferation treaties. These include the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and agreements primarily aimed at preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction, such as Australia's group or the Wassenaar Arrangement. In the Spain-Israel trade dynamic, Spain would have to consider whether its military exports to Israel violate any EU or UN sanctions or arms embargoes.
Criterion Two, on the other hand, establishes that States must respect human rights legislation at the export destination. The export licence should be denied if there is a high risk that the exported equipment could be used for internal repression. In addition, the transfer must also be refused if the equipment could facilitate serious human rights violations in countries where such violations have already occurred.
Criterion Three is particularly relevant, as it refers to situations where the exported military equipment could exacerbate ongoing conflicts. Licenses will be denied if there is a risk that the export could trigger, prolong or aggravate tensions or armed conflicts at the final destination.
Criterion Four has as goal the maintenance of peace, security and regional stability. EU member states must deny export licenses if there is a clear risk that the military equipment could be used aggressively by the recipient country against another nation or to assert territorial claims through the use of force.
Criterion Five explores how exports could affect the national security interests of the exporting member state, other EU members or allied countries. The risk that the exported military equipment could be used against EU forces or its allies must be taken into account. In the context of the Gaza conflict, this criterion remains relevant, albeit with some nuances. Spain would have to assess whether its military exports could contribute to the escalation of tensions between Israel and Hamas, ensuring that the equipment does not increase risks to the national security of Spain or its allies.
Criterion Six focuses on the host country's behavior in relation to terrorism and international law. Israel maintains a position similar to that of many Western countries in its stance against terrorism. However, Spain's main concern may be Israel's military actions, which have been criticized for not always complying with international and humanitarian law, particularly in its operations in Palestinian territory.
On a more procedural level, Articles 5, 6 and 7 focus on compliance and oversight. The article 5 states that export licenses can only be granted if there is a reliable prior knowledge on the end use of the military equipment in the country of final destination, which requires a certificate of Username final or official documentation from the receiving country. The article 6 addresses dual-use goods, i.e., items with both military and civilian applications, stipulating that goods believed to be used by the importer's armed or security forces must be subject to the same scrutiny as military goods. Finally, article 7 stresses the importance of cooperation among EU members to maximize the effectiveness of their arms policies with other EU countries, such as the suspension of arms agreements following the escalation in Gaza.
On the other hand, Spain also has national laws that regulate the arms trade outside the European Union. Of particular note is Law 53/2007, of December 28, 2007, on the control of foreign trade in defense and dual-use material, which establishes that any export of defense or dual-use material must be authorized by the Spanish government. Any Spanish attention with Israel, whether for purchase or export, would be subject to this law. Its goal is to require a strict assessment of the risk of human rights violations, aggravation of conflicts and regional instability before granting export licenses.
Additionally, Royal Decree 824/1993, as amended by Royal Decree 494/2020, establishes that the Interministerial board for the Regulation of Foreign Trade in Defense and Dual-Use Material (JIMDDU) is in charge of evaluating export authorization requests. This body takes into account the assessment risk of each export, ensuring compliance with legal and ethical standards, including the prevention of human rights violations.
In addition to Spanish and European regulations, Spain is also a party to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), unlike its commercial counterpart, Israel. The ATT imposes binding responsibilities to regulate the global trade in conventional armaments and requires adhering countries to ensure that arms exports do not contribute to serious violations of international law, human rights or the escalation of conflicts. According to article 6 of the ATT, Spain must deny any arms shipments if there is a substantial risk that the arms will be used to perpetrate genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes. Given the current circumstances in Gaza and the potential for military equipment to be used in violations of international law, the ATT further underscores the need for Spain to meticulously assess and, if appropriate, terminate its arms supplies to Israel.
Both Spanish and European legislation, together with international treaties, establish a framework to prevent arms exports from contributing to human rights violations, regional instability or the escalation of conflicts.
case studyspecific agreements on the arms trade
The Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, declared in February 2024 that the government had not authorized any arms sales to Israel since the beginning of the conflict between Israel and Hamas. He had previously repeated this same statement on December 5, 2023 and January 29, 2024. Months later, in October 2024, the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, stated that since the beginning of the conflict, Spain had suspended its arms purchase contracts with Israel and had only C the repair of spare parts by Israel.
Despite repeated statements by the Minister of Foreign Affairs that arms exports to Israel had been suspended, Namno Palencia, a subsidiary of the Norwegian-Finnish multinational Namno, exported ammunition worth 987,000 euros to Israel in November 2023. The State Trade administrative office stated that this ammunition was intended solely for the purposes of test and not for use in the ongoing conflict, and that the authorization for the transaction had been given prior to the outbreak of the conflict. However, Spain could have revoked this licence since Criterion Two of article 2 of the Common Position of committee 2008/944/CFSP requires the denial of export permits if there are "reasonable indications" that the military materiel could be used to trigger a conflict or exacerbate tensions.
On the other hand, in relation to the Defense Minister's assertion that Spain had suspended its arms purchase contracts with Israel and had only C the repair of spare parts by Israel, the continuation of the purchase of military equipment from Israeli companies or their subsidiaries in Spain until January 2024 was documented.
On December 15, 2023, EXPAL, a consortium including the Spanish signature Escribano Mechanical and Engineering and the Israeli business Elbit Systems, was awarded the contract for the supply of the high launcher system mobility SILAM, valued at 697 million euros (including taxes). This award was based on the assessment that it was "the only technically qualified business for the development of project from the technical point of view, and improvements of interest to the administration were negotiated".
Additionally, on November 22, 2023, the contract was also awarded to business PAP Tecnos Innovación SAU, a subsidiary of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems in Spain, for the supply of 168 SPIKE LR2 anti-tank missile systems, valued at €287 million (including taxes). Again, the motives behind this award were the same as those for the SILAM high mobility rocket launcher system.
Likewise, also on November 22, 2023, a contract was awarded to Netline Communications Technologies (NCT) Ltd, an Israeli business , for the acquisition of complementary goods for the frequency jamming systems used by the Spanish Armed Forces, valued at 1,592,395 euros (including taxes). The reasons were those already expressed in the previous cases.
The awarding of these contracts to Israeli companies or subsidiaries, despite public statements on the suspension of arms trade with Israel, places Spain in an uncomfortable status where a possible legal, ethical and strategic conflict is identified. This status opens a discussion on Spain's compliance with international trade regulations.
Legal obligations and ethical considerations in arms exports
With respect to a assessment of Spanish Law 53/2007 and the relevant criteria set out in article 2 of committee Common Position 2008/944/CFSP, Spain arguably should have revoked or suspended any remaining licence arms exports to Israel. The Spanish government has already takensimilar measuresin the past, such as when in 2013 Spain temporarily suspended defense equipment licenses to Egypt following a coup or in 2011 imposed a temporary suspension of arms export licenses to MENA countries affected by the 'Arab Spring' uprisings. In addition, during the term of office of former Spanish President Mariano Rajoy, Spain temporarily suspended its military exports in August 2014 following an Israeli military attack in the Gaza Strip that killed more than 1,800 Palestinians.
These cases underscore Spain's ability and legal duty to comply with international law and human rights norms, ensuring that military exports do not contribute to perpetuating ongoing conflicts or exacerbating violations of international law. In light of the prevailing circumstances in Gaza and the broad implications of Spain's arms trade with Israel, Spain has a legal and ethical obligation to implement strict control and ensure that its arms shipments do not exacerbate violence or instability.