Spain may style itself as Israel's most fervent adversary, but its sanctions are far from comprehensive

As criticism of Israel’s genocide continues in Gaza and government across the Americas and Europe have remained largely muted, Spain has stepped into the vacuum as one of the most vocal critics of the country in the West.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has called for multilateral measures to end the arms trade with Israel, including a push to suspend the EU–Israel Association Agreement. It is also the only EU country to have formally recalled its ambassador and, back in October 2023, announced it was halting arms sales to the country.

According to a report by the Delas Centre for Peace Studies in Barcelona, military imports from Israel persisted after October 2023, amounting to €36.7m ($41.9m) by February 2025 under HS code 93 (arms and ammunition) and 8710 (tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles).

In fact, “Spain has never imported more than after 7 October 2023,” the report claimed.

This shifted on 23 September 2025, however, when Sanchez approved a law imposing an arms embargo against Israel and the prohibition of imports from the occupied Palestinian territories.