\n Spain’s President Pedro Sanchez has pledged to cut all technological dependency on Israel over the Gaza genocide [Getty]<\/p>\n
Spain<\/a>\u2019s government has said that it is continuing to work towards “zero technological dependence” on\u00a0Israel <\/a>despite currently considering the purchase of an alternative European defence system partly owned by Tel Aviv.<\/p>\n The centre-left government led by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez last year cancelled a defence contract with Israel\u2019s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems worth 287.5 million euros (\u00a3251 million) for the purchase of 1,680 Spike LR2 missiles.<\/p>\n The decision came part of the Sanchez government\u2019s attempts to impose an embargo on Israel to pressure Tel Aviv to halt its attacks on Gaza, with Madrid <\/a>joining a growing consensus that Israel was committing genocide<\/a>\u00a0against the Palestinians.<\/p>\n Spain\u2019s Secretary of State for Defense, Amparo Valcarce, emphasised that the government\u2019s strategic objective remains the same, “to achieve 0% technological dependence by systematically and progressively replacing any component, system, or technology that may exist in certain very restricted areas”.<\/p>\n Instead, Madrid has announced it was considering a large purchase of the alternative Multipurpose European Guided Missile (MELLS) System from EuroSpike, a company owned by the German firms Rheinmetall and Diehl.<\/p>\n Critics, however, have accused Madrid of maintaining a connection with Israel by purchasing the same product through intermediaries, pointing to the fact that Rafael maintains a 20% ownership of EuroSpike.<\/p>\n On Thursday, Valcarce denied to the Spanish parliament that the government had backtracked on its pledge to distance itself completely from Israel, arguing that the current components of MELLS are not of Israeli origin and would guarantee “strategic autonomy”.<\/p>\n Valcarce emphasised that Madrid\u2019s decision stems from the technical needs of the country\u2019s defence sector, namely that the Spike system is fully integrated into Spanish defence units across its army and navy. A change in model, she argued, would entail considerable training and logistical costs.<\/p>\n Madrid said it was considering switching to the alternative SILAM (Multiple Rocket Launcher System) by the joint Rheinmetall-Escribano venture to replace previous prototypes produced by the Israeli company Elbit<\/a>.<\/p>\n