Spain Imposes Arms Embargo on Israel in Sweeping Measures Against Gaza Genocide

Spain has announced a sweeping package of sanctions against Israel, including a total arms embargo, in what Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez described as an effort to “stop the genocide in Gaza” and “support the Palestinian population.”

Sánchez: “This is extermination, not self-defence”

In a speech posted on his official X account, Sánchez drew a sharp line between legitimate defence and indiscriminate violence:

“There is a difference between defending your country and bombing hospitals or starving innocent children. This is an unjustifiable attack on the civilian population. Sixty thousand dead, two million displaced, half of them children. This is not self-defence … it is the extermination of a defenceless people.”

The Measures in Detail

The package, to be formalised through a royal decree law and ratified by parliament, makes official what has been de facto since October 2023:

• Total arms embargo: ban on the purchase and sale of weapons, ammunition, and military equipment to Israel.

• Logistical restrictions: prohibition of ships carrying fuel for the Israeli army from docking at Spanish ports; denial of Spanish airspace to aircraft transporting defence material.

• Travel bans: restrictions on entry for individuals “directly involved in genocide, human rights violations and war crimes” in Gaza—a move that could include Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his cabinet.

• Economic sanctions: ban on imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

• Humanitarian support: €10 million in new funding for UNRWA and a total of €150 million in humanitarian aid for Gaza by 2026.

Legal and Diplomatic Context

The measures come against the backdrop of International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on charges of war crimes, including starvation of civilians. Many European governments have faced criticism for refusing to enforce these warrants. The United States went further by imposing sanctions on ICC prosecutor Karim Khan.

Spain’s move sets it apart as one of the most forceful European critics of Israel’s Gaza campaign. It follows Madrid’s formal recognition of a Palestinian state in May 2024, a step taken by only a handful of European nations.

Israel’s Response

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned the Spanish measures as “anti-Semitic,” accusing Sánchez’s socialist government of leading a “hostile anti-Israel line, with uncontrolled and hateful rhetoric.” Israel also announced it would bar two Spanish ministers from entering the country.

Spain responded firmly, summoning its ambassador back from Tel Aviv for consultations and rejecting what it called “false and slanderous accusations of antisemitism.”

“The measures relating to the inhumane situation in Gaza and the West Bank reflect the majority opinion of Spanish society and are adopted within the framework of its sovereignty and in line with its defence of peace, human rights and international law,” Spain’s Foreign Ministry said.

A Shift in Europe?

Spain’s escalation adds to mounting global pressure as calls grow for accountability over Israel’s actions in Gaza. By linking its embargo directly to genocide prevention and international law, Madrid may set a precedent for other European nations to follow.

Gaza: The Most Bombarded Place in History and the Genocide Scholars’ Verdict

 History teaches us that atrocities are too often acknowledged only after the devastation is complete—when denial is no longer possible. From the dispossession of Indigenous peoples to slavery, from the Holocaust to Srebrenica and Rwanda, the world has consistently recognized genocide too late. Gaza, however, is unfolding differently: the world is watching the destruction in real time.

On August 31, 2024, the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS), the leading body of experts on genocide and war crimes, declared that Israel’s actions in Gaza meet the definition of genocide under the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The ruling is historic. It transforms what has long been dismissed as political rhetoric into a legal and scholarly fact.

Unprecedented Bombardment

The scale of destruction in Gaza is without precedent in modern history. As of May 2025, Israel had dropped over 100,000 tons of explosives on Gaza’s 365 km² strip of land. This equates to:

• 548 pounds (250 kg) of explosives per square meter (11 ft²).

• By comparison, during World War II, the Allies dropped 1.4 million tons on Germany, averaging 7.9 pounds per m².

• In Operation Rolling Thunder (1965–1968), the U.S. dropped 864,000 tons on North Vietnam, averaging 5.5 pounds per m².

Measured proportionally, Gaza has endured seventy times more bombing per area than Germany, and one hundred times more than North Vietnam, making it the most ruthlessly bombarded place in history.

The devastation is compounded by Gaza’s extreme population density—6,300 people per km² compared to 196 in WWII Germany and 120 in Vietnam. Every bomb in Gaza falls on crowded neighborhoods, ensuring mass civilian casualties.

Human Cost

The toll is staggering:

• 64,300 Palestinians killed, including 20,000 children, with thousands more buried under rubble.

• 161,000 injured, many with life-altering disabilities such as amputations and blindness.

• 376 deaths from starvation by early September 2025, including 134 children, as famine spreads.

• 92% of housing destroyed or damaged, leaving 2.3 million displaced.

Gaza’s survivors now live not in homes, but among rubble and graves.

The Legal and Moral Reckoning

The IAGS declaration emphasizes Israel’s deliberate targeting of children, noting:

“Children are essential to the survival of any group as such, since the physical destruction of the group is assured where it is unable to regenerate itself.”

The International Criminal Court (ICC) in November 2024 issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Gallant on charges of crimes against humanity, including starvation of civilians. The International Court of Justice (ICJ), in three separate rulings, confirmed it is “plausible” that Israel is committing genocide and ordered immediate humanitarian access.

Yet, despite these rulings, states continue to provide Israel with weapons, funding, and diplomatic cover—rendering the 1948 Genocide Convention a tool applied selectively.

Complicity and Silence

The IAGS resolution is a turning point. It cuts through political obfuscation and exposes the suppression of truth through accusations of antisemitism. When the world’s foremost genocide scholars—including Holocaust experts—declare Gaza a genocide, the narrative shifts irreversibly.

Accusing those who raise the alarm of antisemitism is revealed not just as a falsehood but as complicity in silencing debate and shielding atrocity. History will judge not only those who ordered the bombings but also those who supplied the weapons and diplomatic shield to sustain them.

Conclusion

The genocide in Gaza is not hidden in archives or distant testimonies—it is live-streamed, documented in real time, and confirmed by the world’s most credible genocide scholars. The question now is not whether genocide is occurring, but whether the global community will uphold its own laws or allow the Genocide Convention to become a hollow promise.

Xi Jinping Backs Brazil’s Position on Ukraine at BRICS Summit

 Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed support for Brazil’s stance on the Ukraine conflict during an extraordinary online BRICS summit convened on Monday, underscoring the bloc’s unified call for dialogue and multilateralism.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had earlier emphasized that any settlement of the crisis must respect the “legitimate security interests of all interested parties.” Xi echoed this sentiment, aligning Beijing with Brazil’s diplomatic approach.

“President Lula spoke about the Ukrainian crisis and the conflict in the Gaza Strip. I agree with Brazil's position, I am sure that we are all united on these issues,” Xi said.

Xi on BRICS Resilience

Beyond the Ukraine issue, Xi highlighted BRICS’ role in a rapidly changing global landscape. He asserted that the grouping—which now includes major emerging economies across several continents—would “withstand the test of international turbulence” while pursuing sustainable, long-term development.

He called for:

• Deepening practical cooperation in trade, finance, science, and technology

• Protecting the international economic and trade order amid global instability

• Strengthening intra-BRICS ties to better counter external challenges

“Some countries are continuously launching trade and tariff wars, which is seriously affecting the global economy and undermining international trade rules,” Xi warned.

A Unified BRICS Message

Xi’s endorsement of Brazil’s Ukraine position, coupled with his warnings on trade wars, reflects BRICS’ broader push to present itself as an alternative platform for global governance—one that emphasizes dialogue, inclusivity, and multipolarity in international relations.