Ben Pawlowski
FEARS that the United States military could use bases on the Spanish mainland to send weapons to Israel appear to have been quashed after the Spanish government quietly issued a veto.
Earlier this month, prime minister Pedro Sanchez unveiled nine measures aimed at pressuring Israel to scale-back its military offensive in Gaza.
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 raised doubts over the effectiveness of these measures given that the US, an outspoken ally of Israel, conducts 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, with one specialist in international law warning Diario de Cadiz: “Unless Spain renegotiates the terms of the treaty, the US can continue using these bases.”
Such a situation could have placed Sanchez and his firmly anti-Israeli socialist-led government into an awkward position, not least given his vociferous condemnation of Israeli military activity in Gaza.
But according to military sources cited by El Pais, Spain has officially launched a veto that would prevent the transit of US aircraft or ships carrying arms destined for Israel through Rota or Morón.
“Rota and Moron are under Spanish sovereignty, under the Spanish military, and everything that happens there would have to be authorised by the Spanish authorities,” the sources said.
Under the terms of a bilateral defence agreement struck in 1988, American forces can use the two bases for missions of its choice.
However, cargo viewed as ‘controversial’ – such as arms bound for conflict zones – requires explicit authorisation from the Spanish military.
This already appears to have influenced the transit of US-made arms for Israel.
Earlier this year, six F-35 fighters destined for Israel avoided using Rota or Moron, instead making a stop in the Azores, a Portuguese-run archipelago in the mid-Atlantic.
The planes then flew across the Strait of Gibraltar, rather than crossing through Spanish airspace.
For future transport of arms, ammunition or military equipment, the US will likely continue to bypass Spain and instead route the material through bases in other European countries, such as Germany or Italy.
READ MORE: Washington accuses Spain of ’emboldening terrorists’ with Israeli weapons embargo
In theory, the US could conceal cargo heading for Israel – although this would be a big risk given possible ramifications for its relationship with Spain and Europe more widely.
Earlier this month, Sanchez denounced Israel’s military conduct in Gaza as a ‘genocide’.
He 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.”
Critics of the prime minister, such as leader of the conservative Partido Popular (PP) opposition Alberto Nuñez Feijóo, believe Sanchez is using the Palestinian cause to distract from internal struggles.
These include allegations of corruption levied against his wife, brother and former right-hand man.
According to the region’s health ministry, over 66,000 Palestinians have been killed by the war in Gaza, which began after the Hamas October 7 terrorist attacks.
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