Delivery for Israel

Spain refuses to allow ship to dock because of weapons

The port in Valencia(Bild: Backyard Productions LLC 2018)

Spain's government has refused to allow a ship carrying weapons for Israel to dock in a port. In future, this will apply to any ship wishing to transport weapons to Israel, announced Spain's Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares.

The Middle East "does not need more weapons, it needs more peace." For this reason, the Foreign Ministry rejects such stopovers. Spain's government no longer sells weapons to Israel itself and is one of the fiercest European critics of the actions in the Gaza Strip. It also wants Palestine to be recognized as a separate state and is trying to convince other European governments to do so.

US House of Representatives votes in favor of arms deliveries
Meanwhile, the US House of Representatives has voted in favor of a bill to force arms deliveries to Israel. The bill calls on the government to swiftly implement all arms transfers that have already been approved. However, the bill is likely to fail in the Senate, where President Joe Biden's Democratic Party has the upper hand. He had already announced that he would veto the bill if it were to pass Congress.

The reason given for this was the larger ground offensive in Rafah. "We have been very clear about a possible major military operation in Rafah. We have our concerns," said Biden spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre on Thursday. Many refugees from other parts of the Gaza Strip are staying in the city.