Alex Trelinski
SPAIN has scrapped a €285 million deal for anti-tank missile systems that were to be made in Madrid by a subsidiary of an Israeli company.
The Defence Ministry made it clear that it was ‘moving away’ from Israeli military technology.
The decision surrounds the licensing of 168 SPIKE LR2 anti-tank missile systems.
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They would have been developed in Spain by Pap Tecnos, a Madrid-based subsidiary of Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.
Government spokesperson, Pilar Alegria, said: “The goal is clear which is a total disconnection from Israeli technology.”
She added that the government is studying ‘the effects of the cancellation’.
Spain approved the deal on 3 October 2023 four days before the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.
There has been no comment from Pap Tecnos or the Israeli government.
Spain last month cancelled a €6.6 million contract for millions of bullets from Israeli arms manufacturer, IMI Systems.
The government has also officially recognised a Palestinian State with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez questioning whether Israeli military actions comply with international humanitarian law.
He describing the rising death toll in Gaza as ‘truly unbearable’.
