Pro-Palestinians in Barcelona urge Spain to impose 'real' arms embargo on Israel

Dozens of pro-Palestine demonstrators gathered in front of the Spanish government office in Catalonia, in Barcelona's Eixample neighborhood, urging for a "real and effective" arms embargo on Israel.

The protest, organized by the coalition Stop Complicities with Israel, was scheduled nationwide on Tuesday and coincides with the weekly cabinet meeting that will greenlight the decree announced by Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez on Monday.

The decree focuses on nine different measures to stop the conflict between Israel and Palestine, including an arms embargo and banning cargo vessels from docking at Spanish ports if they are transporting fuel for Israeli armed forces.

Protest organizers doubt that the decree will really ban arms trade with Israel, as a spokesperson in Catalonia, Alys Samson, said.

"Since the start of the genocide in Palestine on October 7, 2023, the Spanish cabinet meeting has been held 94 times without passing any specific measure to implement an arms embargo on Israel," she said.

She also pointed out the debate over whether the government should implement such an embargo or not. Samson told media outlets that "the measure is non-negotiable and cannot be debated. The embargo is a moral and legal obligation."

Samson condemned the drone attack on a vessel from the aid flotilla sailing to Gaza in Tunis.

Reports by the Delàs Center for Peace indicate that between February and May, Spain has been one of the EU countries that has imported the most weapons from Israel. The group points out that while there are no sales on Spain's exports website, there are several trade deals on the Israeli platform for this summer.

Mazeed Khalilia, a member of the Palestinian community in Catalonia, regretted that the Spanish government had not decided in the previous two years.