Spain reneges on $325m purchase of anti-tank missiles from Israel’s Rafael
Spain has canceled another arms deal with Israel, the Spanish Defense Ministry said Tuesday, confirming local media reports, as Madrid and other European governments urged sanctions on Jerusalem due to the Gaza war.
The cancellation will affect the purchase of SPIKE LR2 anti-tank missile systems with an estimated value of 285 million euros ($325 million). The systems would have been developed in Spain by Pap Tecnos, a subsidiary of Israel’s Rafael Advance Defense Systems, according to local press.
The deal included 168 launchers and 1,680 missiles, according to Israel’s market daily Globes, which added that Spain might purchase American-made Javelin missiles instead.
The Rafael deal was finalized four days before the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023, when thousands of terrorists invaded southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, sparking the Gaza war.
Responding to Spanish reports that the deal was scrapped, Rafael said it was unaware that Madrid had reneged on the purchase.
Spain had in April canceled an order for 15 million Israeli-made bullets. The government of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had been briefly thrown into disarray after he had announced the purchase would go forth despite earlier promising to scrap the deal. Sanchez canceled the sale after his hard-left coalition partners threatened to resign.
Spain is a long-time critic of Israel’s policies toward Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. Speaking in the Spanish parliament last month, Sanchez © The Times of Israel
