Spain announces new sanctions against Israel 'to stop the genocide in Gaza': arms embargo, entry ban, and other measures

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced new measures against Israel for the "genocide in Gaza" this Monday. These measures will be implemented immediately. These measures include the legal consolidation of the arms embargo, a ban on those implicated in the genocide entering Spain, and increased humanitarian aid.

The first of these measures will be the urgent approval of a royal decree law that legally consolidates the arms embargo on Israel that has been in place de facto since October 2023. It will establish a legal and permanent ban on the purchase and sale of weapons, ammunition, and military equipment to Israel.

Added to this is the ban on access to Spanish territory for all those directly involved in the "genocide," human rights violations, and war crimes in the Gaza Strip.

Furthermore, Spain will deny entry into Spanish airspace to all state aircraft transporting defense material destined for Israel, and all ships carrying fuel destined for the Israeli armed forces will be prohibited from transiting through Spanish ports.

The import of products from illegal settlements in Gaza and the West Bank will also be banned, with the aim of combating these occupations, halting the forced displacement of Palestinians, and keeping the two-state solution alive.

To this end, consular services provided to Spanish citizens residing in illegal Israeli settlements will be limited to the minimum legally required assistance.

Similarly, support for the Palestinian Authority will be strengthened through an increase in the number of troops in the European Union's border assistance mission in Rafah and the establishment of new collaborative projects with the Palestinian Authority in the areas of agriculture, food security, and medical assistance.

Sánchez also announced an increase in the contribution to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) by an additional ten million euros, as well as an increase in humanitarian aid for Gaza to reach 150 million euros by 2026.

UN agencies, international organizations, and a growing number of countries are calling Israel's campaign against the Gaza Strip since the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, a genocide, killing more than 60,000 people, more than 18,000 of them children, and causing a famine in the north of the enclave that has left hundreds dead.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar accused the Spanish government of anti-Semitism following the new measures announced by Sánchez.

"The corrupt Sánchez administration's attempt to distract attention from serious corruption scandals through a sustained anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic campaign is clear," Saar wrote in a lengthy message on the X network.

The minister stated that, as a sanction, his government will also ban the Spanish Vice President and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, as well as the Minister of Youth and Children, Sira Rego, who is of Palestinian origin, from entering Israel .

In response, the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs "strongly rejected the false and slanderous accusations of anti-Semitism" from Israel, in a new clash between the two countries.

Madrid also criticized "the unacceptable ban on entry to Israel for two members of the Spanish government."

"The Spanish government will not be intimidated in its defense of peace, international law, and human rights," the ministry stated in its statement.

For his part, Pedro Sánchez stated that the international community "is failing to stop this tragedy" and pointed to "complicity" with the Netanyahu government.

On the international stage, Sánchez is one of the leaders most critical of the Israeli government for its military attacks in the Gaza Strip. Within the EU, for example, last June he suggested to other European leaders that they suspend the Union's association agreement with Israel.

Spain was one of the pioneering countries to recognize the State of Palestine, along with Ireland and Norway, in May 2024. This measure has already been announced by other European countries, such as France and the United Kingdom, for this September.