Over 1,000 military equipment shipments from US to Israel 'made via Spain port': report

An investigation by two NGOs has uncovered that Spanish authorities have permitted the passage of several US cargo ships carrying weapons to Israel via one of its ports in the Mediterranean Sea, in a possible contradiction to its pro-Palestinian stance.

The probe, carried out by the Palestinian Youth Movement and Progressive International and reported by Spanish website El Diario, revealed that US ships carrying weaponry had reportedly made at least 25 journeys between May and September this year.

The ships allegedly stopped at the southern port of Algeciras, before reaching their final destination at the Israeli Ministry of Defence.

The investigation said that 1,185 shipments with military supplies worth more than 13,000 tonnes passed through the Algeciras route, one of Europe's biggest ports.

This comes as  Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said Madrid would enact a policy barring ships carrying arms to Israel from docking at Spanish ports after Spain had refused to dock a ship carrying weapons headed to Israel in May.

El Diario verified the Palestinian Youth Movement and Progressive International's probe via commercial databases, it said on Monday.

The shipments reportedly included ballistic plates, armoured military cars, engines, vehicle and aircraft parts, aircraft tyres, various military equipment including missiles and grenades, among other miscellaneous items and unidentified cargo.

The Spanish site said it had asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a comment. An official source reportedly said that they are "analysing the information with relevant ministries to clarify what had happened".

The same source said: "All the necessary measures will be taken to guarantee that a Spanish port is no longer used" as a stopover to send military material to Israel, should El Diario's findings get confirmed.

The ships, according to El Diario and the commercial database, transited through Algeciras via the logistics company Maersk, with shipments being registered in the name of the Israeli Ministry of Defence.

The business address shown for each data entry corresponds to Interglobal Forwarding Services (IFS), a US shipping and forwarding company registered in New Jersey, it added.

The company claims to specialise in "foreign military sales (FMS) and defence contracts" as well as "trade compliance requirements". IFS also seemingly has a track record of facilitating US arms shipments to Israel for over a decade, and has attempted to conceal such information, the website added.

The investigators said: "Considering the Spanish government's blocking of military shipments to Israel in May, it is quite possible that the Israeli Defence Ministry is intentionally concealing the true nature of this shipment to bypass restrictions on arms deliveries."

Israel's atrocities in the Gaza Strip, aided by foreign weapons supplies, particularly from the US, have been described as genocide and war crimes.

At least 43,374 Palestinians have been killed since October 7, 2023, as of Monday, while Israel's military onslaught has plunged the territory into a deep humanitarian crisis.

In February, a report revealed that Spain had continued exporting €987,000 ($1.1 million) worth of ammunition in November last year - one month into the war in Gaza - despite Madrid claiming it had halted such exports since October 2023.

Article 53/2007 of Spanish law, however, stresses "full commitment to the International Arms Trade Treaty" which prohibits the transfer and transit of military material to recipients who can use it to "carry out war crimes such as attacks on civilians, crimes against humanity or genocide".

Spain has also been among the more vocal Western countries in criticising Israel amid the Gaza war. Madrid, alongside Slovenia, Ireland Norway and Malta, also recognised the state of Palestine earlier this year.

The investigation naturally raises eyebrows regarding Spain's dedication to rejecting being a transit point for arms shipments to Israel, as well as its commitment to the Palestinian cause as Israel continues to pound Gaza.