Spain terminates Israeli ammo contract after uproar threatened to topple coalition

Spain will back out of a contract to purchase Israeli arms, a government official said Thursday, in a bid to quell the backlash that nearly split the country’s coalition government.

After the Spanish press revealed that Madrid had ordered 15 million bullets from an Israeli military firm last fall, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced the €6.6 million contract would be nixed. Spain is one of the most outspoken European critics of Israel’s military operations in Gaza and has maintained an embargo on the purchase or sale of weapons from and to the country since 2023.

But on Wednesday the Cadena Ser radio network revealed that the controversial contract to acquire millions of rounds of 9 mm ammunition had not been canceled after all. Although Spain’s Ministry of Interior, which is purchasing the bullets to outfit the country’s Civil Guard police force, moved to cancel the order, its legal experts ultimately concluded that the deal could not be annulled without causing substantial legal and financial strife.

The news set off a firestorm of criticism within Sánchez’s left-wing coalition government, with Labor Minister Yolanda Díaz, who heads junior coalition partner Sumar, demanding the situation be “rectified immediately.” Antonio Maíllo, general coordinator of the United Left party within the Sumar group, called it the “biggest crisis” the executive had faced since taking office in 2023.

Faced with the threat that Sumar could abandon the five seats it controls within the Council of Ministers, Sánchez moved to settle the issue quickly. A Spanish government official granted anonymity to discuss the politically sensitive issue told POLITICO on Thursday that after trying all other avenues to get out of the deal, the contract would be “unilaterally” terminated.

The rounds of ammunition would be blocked from importation for reasons of “public interest,” the official said, adding Spain would not buy or sell arms to Israel in the future and that the government was looking into what legal action could ensue. Given the unilateral nature of the contract’s annulment, it is possible that Madrid may have to pay the full amount for which it agreed to purchase the bullets, regardless of whether it receives any of them.

Although the Spanish government maintains that it does not acquire Israeli armaments, other deals appear to have been signed since 2023. A spokesperson told POLITICO that the contracts are for essential weapons systems that are either exclusively produced by Israeli firms, or contain components that are only manufactured in Israel.

Spain’s government was already in turmoil over Sánchez’s announcement earlier this week that Madrid would hike defense spending to 2 percent of gross domestic product this year, triggering an outcry from Sumar and the government's left-wing allies in the country's parliament.

The governing coalition’s junior partner is concerned about the possibility that increased military expenditures could come at the cost of Spain’s expansive welfare system, and it has also expressed its opposition to the country’s “militarization.” Sánchez insists that Spain remains a "pacifist" country, and that the investments are meant to "deter those who might think of attacking Europe."

The ammunition contract crisis is personally embarrassing for the prime minister, who last year assured lawmakers that Spain had not purchased or sold weapons to Israel since 2023.

He is likely to be challenged on those statements when he next appears in the country’s parliament, while simultaneously being attacked by right-wing parties for failing to secure needed ammunition for domestic security forces.