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full screen Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares. Archive image. Photo: Bilal Hussein/AP/TT
A ship loaded with weapons, bound for Israel, has been refused entry to a port in Spain.
– It is the first time we have done this, but it is also the first time that we have discovered a ship loaded with weapons for Israel that wanted to dock in a Spanish port, says Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares.
However, it may not be the last time Spain acts in a similar way.
– This will be our consistent policy for all ships carrying weapons to Israel, for obvious reasons, says Albares.
– The Middle East does not need more weapons, they need peace.
The ship in question is Danish-flagged and is on its way from India to Haifa in Israel. According to the newspaper El País, the ship has 27 tons of weapons and ammunition in its cargo. The vessel reportedly requested to dock in Cartagena in southeastern Spain on May 21.
Meanwhile, a domestic political dispute is raging over another ship loaded with weapons, which is scheduled to dock in Cartagena on Friday.
That ship is accused by pro-Palestinian groups of carrying weapons to Israel, but Transport Minister Oscar Puente says the weapons are on their way to the Czech Republic.
Spain has suspended all arms sales to Israel since the ongoing war began with the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 last year.