Bullets Purchase from Israel Rattles Spain’s Leftist Coalition

 Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez leaves after a press conference after a cabinet meeting held at Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain, 22 April 2025. (EPA)
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez leaves after a press conference after a cabinet meeting held at Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain, 22 April 2025. (EPA)
TT
20

Bullets Purchase from Israel Rattles Spain’s Leftist Coalition

 Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez leaves after a press conference after a cabinet meeting held at Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain, 22 April 2025. (EPA)
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez leaves after a press conference after a cabinet meeting held at Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain, 22 April 2025. (EPA)

A decision by Spain's Socialist government to backtrack on a promise to cancel a contract to buy bullets from an Israeli firm drew a rebuke on Wednesday from its junior coalition partners, with some allies threatening to withdraw support.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's minority government has struggled to pass legislation since securing a new term by cobbling together an alliance of left-wing and regional separatist parties in 2023.

On Tuesday, Sanchez angered far-left junior partner Sumar after unveiling a plan to boost defense spending.

Spain, a long-time critic of Israel's policies in the Palestinian territories, pledged in October 2023 to stop selling weapons to Israel over its war with Hamas in Gaza and last year widened that commitment to include weapons purchases.

Sumar, a platform of left-wing parties that controls five ministries led by deputy premier Yolanda Diaz, said on Wednesday the ammunition purchase was "a flagrant violation" of the agreement it had made with the Socialists to form a coalition.

"We demand the immediate rectification of this contract," it said in a statement.

The Interior Ministry said last October it was canceling a contract worth 6.6 million euros ($7.53 million) to buy more than 15 million 9-mm rounds from Guardian LTD Israel.

On Wednesday it said it been advised by the state attorney that breaking the contract would have meant paying the full amount without receiving the shipment.

Guardian LTD Israel did not immediately comment on the decision.

Izquierda Unida (United Left) lawmaker Enrique Santiago, whose party is part of Sumar, suggested there were legal grounds to cancel the contract without paying but that even "a breach of contract of only about six million (euros) will be applauded by the whole country".

Asked if IU could abandon the coalition government, he told reporters: "We are currently considering all scenarios."

Before the news of the ammunition contract broke, Diaz had said her group disagreed with the increase in defense spending, particularly a plan to procure more weapons, but that the coalition was in good health and would see out the legislative term ending in 2027.



Palestine Action's Co-founder Asks UK Court to Overturn Terror Group Ban

A person holds a Palestinian flag outside the High Court on the day of a hearing about the banned pro-Palestinian campaign organisation Palestine Action, in London, Britain, July 21, 2025. REUTERS
A person holds a Palestinian flag outside the High Court on the day of a hearing about the banned pro-Palestinian campaign organisation Palestine Action, in London, Britain, July 21, 2025. REUTERS
TT
20

Palestine Action's Co-founder Asks UK Court to Overturn Terror Group Ban

A person holds a Palestinian flag outside the High Court on the day of a hearing about the banned pro-Palestinian campaign organisation Palestine Action, in London, Britain, July 21, 2025. REUTERS
A person holds a Palestinian flag outside the High Court on the day of a hearing about the banned pro-Palestinian campaign organisation Palestine Action, in London, Britain, July 21, 2025. REUTERS

The co-founder of a pro-Palestinian campaign group sought on Monday to challenge the British government's decision to ban the group under anti-terrorism laws, a move her lawyers said had "the hallmarks of an authoritarian and blatant abuse of power".

Huda Ammori, who helped found Palestine Action in 2020, is asking London's High Court to give the go-ahead for a full challenge to the group's proscription, which was made on the grounds it committed or participated in acts of terrorism.

Earlier this month, the High Court refused Ammori's application to pause the ban and, following an unsuccessful last-ditch appeal, Palestine Action's proscription came into effect just after midnight on July 5, Reuters reported.

Proscription makes it a crime to be a member of the group, carrying a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.

Ammori's lawyer Raza Husain said Palestine Action is the first direct action group to be banned as a terror group, a move he argued was inconsistent with "the honorable history of civil disobedience on conscientious grounds in our country".

Dozens have been arrested for holding placards purportedly supporting the group since the ban and Ammori's lawyers say protesters expressing support for the Palestinian cause have also been subject to increased scrutiny from police officers.

Britain's interior minister Yvette Cooper, however, has said violence and criminal damage have no place in legitimate protest and that Palestine Action's activities – including breaking into a military base and damaging two planes – justify proscription.

Palestine Action has increasingly targeted Israel-linked companies in Britain, often spraying red paint, blocking entrances or damaging equipment.

The group accuses the British government of complicity in what it says are Israeli war crimes in its ongoing bombardment of Gaza.

Israel has repeatedly denied committing abuses in its war in Gaza, which began after Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.