The Spanish government has cancelled a contract worth nearly €700 million for Israeli-designed rocket launchers, according to an official document seen Monday by Agence France-Presse.
The move comes after Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced last week that his government would “consolidate in law” a ban on military equipment sales or purchases with Israel over its offensive in Gaza.
The contract, awarded to a consortium of Spanish companies, involved the purchase of 12 SILAM rocket launcher systems derived from the PULS platform made by Israeli firm Elbit Systems, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies' Military Balance.
First reported by local media and the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the cancellation was formalized on Spain's official public contracts platform on September 9.
The following day, Sanchez unveiled measures aimed at stopping what his leftist government called “the genocide in Gaza.” It includes the approval of a decree imposing a ban on military equipment sales or purchases with Israel.
On September 9, Spain formalized the cancellation of another contract for 168 anti-tank missile launchers, which were to be manufactured under license from an Israeli company. That contract, valued at €287 million, had been first reported by the press in June.
According to Spanish daily La Vanguardia, the government is undertaking a broader review to phase out Israeli weapons and technology from its armed forces.
Sanchez has emerged as one of Europe’s most outspoken critics of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Gaza policy.
Relations between the two countries have been tense for months.
Israel has not had an ambassador in Spain since Madrid recognized the State of Palestine in 2024.
Last week, Spain recalled its ambassador to Israel after heated exchanges over Sanchez’s new measures.
It also summoned the Israeli chargé d’affaires in Madrid after Netanyahu on Thursday accused his Spanish counterpart of issuing a “blatant genocidal threat” against Israel,
The Barcelona-based Delas Center, a security research institute, estimated in April that since the start of the Gaza war, Spain had awarded 46 contracts worth $1.044 billion to Israeli companies, based on public tender data.
