Ben Pawlowski
MILITARY bases on the Spanish mainland may still be used to send weapons to Israel despite the Spanish government’s recent decision to impose a weapons embargo, it has been revealed.
On Monday, prime minister Pedro Sanchez denounced what he described as a ‘genocide’ in Gaza and unveiled nine measures aimed at pressuring Israel to scale-back its military offensive in the region.
These included a ban on the export of Spanish-made weapons to Israel, restrictions on military aircraft crossing Spanish airspace and the closure of Spanish ports to ships carrying arms.
But legal experts have raised doubts about the effectiveness of these measures given that the ban does not extend to US military operations on Spanish soil.
Rota naval base in Cadiz and Morón air base in Sevilla are used jointly by the United States and Spain – but the terms of a defence agreement struck over three decades ago could allow the bases to house arms destined for Israel.
Under the terms of the 1988 Defence Cooperation Agreement, American forces can use the two bases for missions of its choice.
Spain waived its right to control or veto the final destination of munitions carried by US forces, and while Washington is obliged to notify Madrid if shipments contain arms, it is not required to disclose their final destination.
In practice, this means the US can freely transport arms through Andalucian bases to Israel.
“This is a classic case where political declarations cannot override binding international agreements,” one specialist in international law told Diario de Cadiz.
“Unless Spain renegotiates the terms of the treaty, the US can continue using these bases as it sees fit.”
The situation could place Sanchez and his firmly anti-Israeli socialist-led government in an awkward position, given his vociferous condemnation of Israeli military activity in Gaza.
On Monday, Sanchez said: “What PM Netanyahu presented in October 2023 as a military operation in response to the horrific terrorist attacks has ended up becoming a new wave of illegal occupations and an unjustifiable attack against the Palestinian civilian population – an attack that the UN special rapporteur and the majority of experts already describe as a genocide.”
“Protecting your country and your society is one thing, but bombing hospitals and killing innocent boys and girls with hunger is another thing entirely.
“That isn’t defending yourself, that’s not even attacking. It’s exterminating a defenceless people. It’s breaking all the rules of humanitarian law.”
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