Spain’s parliament has formally approved a sweeping arms embargo on Israel, enshrining in law a decree announced by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and significantly escalating Madrid’s posture in response to the Gaza conflict. The measure passed by a narrow margin—178 votes in favor, 169 against—after last-minute backing from the far-left Podemos party, whose support had been uncertain until the day of the vote.
Under the new law, Spain will ban all exports of defence equipment, weapons and military-grade technology to Israel, and prohibit imports of such materials from Israel. It will also outlaw the transit of aviation fuel or materials with potential military use through Spanish ports or airspace, and prohibit the advertising of goods originating in Israeli settlements in the occupied territories. Exceptions are written into the law permitting dual-use defence items in cases where the embargo would harm “general national interests.”
The decision formalises an embargo that had already been in practice since the war’s outbreak in October 2023, according to government defenders. Defense Minister Margarita Robles described the vote as “the final step in a long process,” saying Spain had already ceased arms dealings with Israel from the start of the conflict.
The vote was delayed by one day to avoid coinciding with the anniversary of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attacks, after fierce criticism from Israel’s embassy, which denounced the timing as “cynical and reprehensible.” During parliamentary debate, Sánchez and Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo defended the embargo as an urgent moral and diplomatic move, citing mounting civilian suffering in Gaza. The conservative Popular Party and far-right Vox opposed the measure, while regional and leftist parties rallied for its passage.
Israel, already having withdrawn its ambassador after Spain recognised a Palestinian state in 2024, condemned the move, calling it hostile and accusing Madrid of undermining bilateral relations. The Israeli embassy had also criticised the original scheduling of the vote. Spanish officials meanwhile insisted the embargo is a legally binding signal of Spain’s repudiation of what Sánchez and others call Israel’s indiscriminate attacks in Gaza.
The parliamentary vote clears the way for the decree’s conversion into full legislative statute, opening a stage for modifications and further debate as Madrid insists it will push for deeper sanctions and humanitarian support to the Palestinians.
