Spain cancels contract for anti-tank missiles built by Israeli company

MADRID — Spain has canceled a deal to purchase anti-tank missile systems that were to be manufactured in Madrid by a subsidiary of an Israeli company in a bid to move away from Israeli military technology, the Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

The decision will affect the license for 168 SPIKE LR2 anti-tank missile systems with an estimated value of €285 million.

The systems would have been developed in Spain by Pap Tecnos, a Madrid-based subsidiary of Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defence Systems, local media said.

"The goal is clear...a total disconnection from Israeli technology," government spokesperson Pilar Alegría told reporters, adding the government is studying "the effects of the cancellation."

Israel's Defense Ministry referred questions on the decision back to Rafael, which declined to comment. Pap Tecnos has not issued a comment either.

Spain approved the deal on 3 October 2023 four days before the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.

That attack left around 1,200 people, most of them civilians, dead.

Hamas took 251 people as hostages, and is currently still holding 58 in Gaza, of whom fewer than 24 are believed to still be alive.

Spain's leftist government says it stopped exporting arms to Israel as of 2 October that year, but there where reports some shipments slipped through.

Authorities argued at the time that the systems used by the Spanish forces were obsolete and should be replaced for up-to-date versions like those used by allied armies.

Spain formally recognized a Palestinian state in May 2024 in a coordinated effort with Norway and Ireland.

A month later, Spain became the first European country to ask the top United Nations court, the International Court of Justice, permission to join a case mounted by South Africa that accuses Israel of genocide in Gaza. Israel strongly denies the charge.

There has been growing concern in the west about the Israeli military offensive in Gaza which has to date killed 54,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry whose figures do not distinguish between fighters and civilians.

Last week, Israel's Foreign Ministry accused French President Emmanuel Macron of being on a "crusade against the Jewish state," after he urged the international community to harden its stance towards Israel if the humanitarian situation in Gaza doesn’t improve.

"There is no humanitarian blockade. This is a blatant lie," the ministry said, defending its control over the flow of aid into the enclave.

"But instead of putting pressure on jihadist terrorists, Macron wants to reward them with a Palestinian state. No doubt his national holiday will be October 7," the statement said, referring to the 7 October 2023 militant attack on Israel.

During a three-hour televised interview earlier in May, Macron said Europe should consider sanctioning Israel over the humanitarian situation in Gaza, where hundreds of thousands are thought to be now facing starvation.

And last month, the UK government said it was suspending free trade negotiations with Israel and had introduced new sanctions on settlements in the West Bank as Westminster ramped up its criticism of the ongoing military operation in Gaza.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the UK's existing trade agreement with Israel remains in effect but the government couldn't continue discussions with an administration pursuing what he called "egregious" policies in the two territories.

Those remarks followed a joint condemnation he issued on 19 May with Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney that marked one of the most significant criticisms by close allies of Israel’s handling of the war in Gaza and its actions in the West Bank. — Euronews