Spain Blocks US-Bound Ships Suspected of Carrying Arms for Israel – Hamas Praises the Move

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

The Spanish government has denied docking permission to two US-bound cargo vessels suspected of carrying weapons for Israel.

On November 7, a Spanish foreign ministry spokesperson told the daily El País that the vessels Maersk Denver, which departed from New York on October 31, and Maersk Seletar, which left on November 4, “will not stop in Spain.”

This action follows a request from lawmaker Enrique Santiago, who called on the attorney general to intervene over the ships’ expected arrivals on November 9 and 14 at the Port of Algeciras, cautioning that allowing them would breach Spain’s penal code.

In May, Spain announced a ban on ships carrying military supplies for Israel from docking in its ports. 

BREAKING Following an investigation by the @ProgIntl and @Palyouthmvmt, the Spanish government has denied harbour to two @Maersk ships carrying tonnes of military cargo to Israel, via @El_Pais: https://t.co/0Vktsuu1J9 pic.twitter.com/3HDLfiS8Ou

— Progressive International (@ProgIntl) November 7, 2024

However, an investigation by Progressive International and the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) recently revealed that at least 25 US arms shipments bound for Israel stopped at the Port of Algeciras between May and September.

A foreign ministry spokesperson responded to the investigation, saying, “We are reviewing this information with the ministries responsible for controlling goods entering the national territory.”

“If confirmed, we will take all necessary measures. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has repeatedly urged tighter controls to ensure compliance with this policy,” the ministry added.

Last week, Spain’s Interior Ministry canceled a contract for Civil Guard ammunition sourced from an Israeli defense company. 

“The Spanish government is committed to withholding arms sales to Israel since the conflict in Gaza began. Even though this was an ammunition acquisition, the Interior Ministry has initiated procedures to cancel the order,” the ministry announced.

Hamas Praises Spain’s Decision

Hamas on Friday hailed Spain’s decision to deny docking permission at its port to two cargo vessels suspected of transporting weapons to Israel.

In a statement, the Palestinian group said that the move is “in line with Spain’s honorable position in rejecting the zionist aggression on the Gaza Strip, and preventing the supply of weapons to it to continue the war of genocide it is committing against our Palestinian people.”

The Spanish government has just denied two ships carrying weapons to Israel a port of call in Algeciras. This comes immediately after a report from @palyouthmvmt finds that @Maersk shipments of military goods to Israel violates Spanish law. Incredible. https://t.co/qw3iN97LKr pic.twitter.com/OxLtORQ1eX

— Writers Against the War on Gaza (@wawog_now) November 7, 2024

Hamas called “on the United Nations to issue a resolution criminalizing and prohibiting the export of weapons to the zionist occupation”.

Gaza Genocide

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza. 

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7. 

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 43,469 Palestinians have been killed, and 102,561 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7, 2023.

Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip. 

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’. 

LIVE BLOG: 70% of Gaza Victims are Children, Women | Israeli Officer Killed in Lebanon – Day 399

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children. 

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.  

(PC, Anadolu)

The post Spain Blocks US-Bound Ships Suspected of Carrying Arms for Israel – Hamas Praises the Move appeared first on Palestine Chronicle.