Spain has halted its military purchases from "Israel,"  the Spanish Defense Ministry told newspaper El Pais.

The ministry, chaired by Margarita Robles, stated that all of Spain's contracts to purchase weapons from "Israel" have been halted from October 7, 2023, with the exception of maintenance work.

Specifically, Spain briefly exported defense-related aircraft parts to "Israel" for repair before reimporting them.

Defense Ministry estimates from last year indicate the Israeli occupation accounted for 1.7% of Spain's defense purchases.

'Total arms embargo'

The Spanish Defense Ministry was replying to a formal letter sent on Tuesday by ministers from Spain's far-left coalition party Sumar, who urged their government partners to impose a "total arms embargo with Israel."

Sumar further claimed in the letter that the administration had left some contracts with Israeli vendors open.

The ministers on the left indicated that they would support "the suspension of any ongoing contract or agreement with Israeli defense and/or security companies that are linked both to the escalation of the conflict in Gaza and Lebanon and to the operations in all the settlements illegally occupied by Israel in Palestine."

This follows over 300 Spanish intellectuals and artists sending a letter to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, urging him to implement an arms embargo against "Israel", according to media reports on Tuesday.

As per EFE news, the artists argued that as long as Spain maintains military relations with the occupation, it is considered complicit in the aggression on Gaza and Lebanon.

Sanchez is urged in the letter to immediately enforce a comprehensive embargo on arms supplies to the Israeli occupation. 

Sanchez was reminded that Spain's present administration describes itself as progressive and devoted to human rights, and hence must do more to protect the rights of Palestinians and Lebanese citizens.

Last week, Pedro Sanchez called on fellow European Union members to support Madrid and Ireland's request to suspend the bloc's free trade agreement with "Israel" due to its actions in Gaza and Lebanon.

UN expert calls Gaza genocide 'collective shame of century'

The UN's special rapporteur on the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territories has condemned "Israel's" ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip as "the collective shame of the century," highlighting the international community's inability to defend Palestinian rights.

The Israeli occupation continues its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, particularly in the northern regions, which have witnessed Israeli massacres since the war began a year ago.

The occupation has renewed its brutal aggression in northern Gaza as part of a systematic plan to forcibly displace its residents and destroy all aspects of life and infrastructure, resulting in dozens of martyrs in recent days.

Francesca Albanese made the statements in an X post on Sunday, after more than a year of Israeli bombardment that has destroyed Gaza, murdered tens of thousands of innocent people, and displaced nearly the entire population, often several times.

"In Gaza, the collective shame of the century continues unabated and unstopped, in defiance of every norm of international law and morale," she wrote.

Albanese expressed that "the Palestinians, exhausted by relentless attacks on their bodies and souls are abandoned to their tormentors."

In Gaza, the collective shame of the century continues unabated and unstopped, in defiance of every norm of international law and morale. The Palestinians, exhausted by relentless attacks on their bodies and souls are abandoned to their tormentors. Shocking images of summary… https://t.co/Ajn729G7DN

— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) October 20, 2024