New schism in the government: Interior Ministry formalizes Israeli ammunition purchase months after rejecting it

Eduardo González The Interior Ministry's decision to maintain a contract for the purchase of fifteen million rounds of ammunition from an Israeli company, six months after publicly committing to terminating it, has opened the most serious rift in Pedro Sánchez's coalition government. According to Ministry sources who spoke to the Europa Press agency, the Headquarters of Economic Affairs of the Civil Guard has authorized the purchase of more than 15 million rounds of ammunition (valued at more than €6.6 million) from the Israeli company Guardian Defense & Homeland Security S.A., a subsidiary of the international group Guardian LTD Israel. On October 29, the Ministry of the Interior decided to terminate the contract with the Israeli company and even stated, in a statement, that "the Spanish Government remains committed to not buying or selling weapons to the Israeli State since the outbreak of the armed conflict in the Gaza Strip." These statements were later confirmed by the spokesperson, Pilar Alegría. However, according to the same sources, the Interior Ministry launched a study around the same time regarding the possible termination of the contract, after which it ultimately decided to go ahead with this commitment in response to a recommendation from the State Attorney's Office advising against its termination. The contract was finalized in the middle of Holy Week, specifically on April 16. Interior sources told several media outlets that the decision was ultimately made to go ahead with the contract because, otherwise, and according to the State Attorney's Office, the Ministry would have been forced to pay the full €6.6 million without receiving the contracted material. "Despite this incident, the Ministry of the Interior shares the Spanish government's commitment not to sell or purchase weapons to the Israeli state, acquired since the outbreak of the armed conflict in Gaza," the same sources added. Sumar After learning of the news, Sumar, the minority party in the coalition government, issued a statement on Wednesday expressing its "total opposition to the acquisition of more than six million euros in weapons from Israeli companies through the Ministry of the Interior," which represents "a flagrant violation of the commitments made within the Government to suspend arms purchases from Israel, as well as of international arms trade treaties." Therefore, the party led by Vice President Yolanda Díaz demands "the immediate cancellation of the contract" and requests "the appearance of the Minister of the Interior", Fernando Grande-Marlaska, in Congress to provide "all the necessary explanations regarding this acquisition." Yolanda Díaz herself told the media this Wednesday that the contract represents a "flagrant violation of the agreements" and demanded "the immediate rectification of this contract and the immediate appearance of the minister to explain what happened." For the time being, Sumar has opted for caution, and its spokesperson in Congress, Verónica Martínez Barbero, spoke on Wednesday on La Sexta television, calling for dialogue to address the disagreements with the PSOE. This is not the case with the United Left, a member of Sumar, whose leader, Antonio Maíllo, accused the PSOE of having created "the biggest crisis" in the coalition government. "It's no longer enough to ask for explanations; we clearly position ourselves that we will not follow that path and that path," he added. As if that were not enough, Enrique Santiago, leader of the PCE (Spanish Communist Party) and deputy of the Sumar group, denounced during a press conference in Congress the "dangerous dynamic" that the socialist wing of the government has entered with its decision to "unilaterally and systematically" impose the executive's policy on security and defense, and asserted that Sumar should consider "all scenarios" to respond to this. In this regard, he announced that the United Left has requested this Wednesday the urgent convening of the roundtable of parties that make up the Sumar coalition (the Sumar Movement, IU, the Comuns, and Más Madrid) to address the possible departure of the government. Likewise, Santiago demanded that the Ministries of the Interior and Defense to cancel the contract, adding that if they cannot do so, the political leaders responsible for this operation should "step aside." This could be interpreted as a call for the resignation of Fernando Grande-Marlaska and the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles. For her part, the Minister of Youth and Children, Sira Rego, of the United Left, wrote on social media that "it is unacceptable to allocate a single euro of public funds to purchase Israeli weapons." "We demand the cancellation of the contract and a full audit of all contracts and commercial relations with Israel," she continued. "In the face of genocide, our responsibility and unwavering commitment is with Palestine. Always," she concluded. Military spending The new controversy comes just 24 hours after Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced the National Plan for the Development and Promotion of Technology and the Security and Defense Industry, which provides for an additional investment of €10.471 billion in Security and Defense to reach the two percent of GDP committed to NATO this year and included in the framework of the EU rearmament plan. After learning of Sánchez's announcement, Sumar expressed its disagreement with the plan and even requested "his withdrawal from the Council of Ministers." In the opinion of the party led by Díaz, this plan "commits to very high spending without a prior threat analysis or adequate European coordination." Government spokesperson Pilar Alegría declared this Wednesday that, "beyond the discrepancies," there is "a general common position" within the government on defense matters. Grande-Marlaska in Iraq The outbreak of the controversy over the purchase of ammunition from Israel caught Fernando Grande-Marlaska in Baghdad, where this Wednesday he met with Iraqi Interior Minister Abd Al-Amber Kamel Al-Shammari and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Sabbar al-Sudani and signed a bilateral agreement on cooperation in security and the fight against crime, according to the Interior Ministries of both countries. The agreement, according to the Iraqi Interior Ministry's statement to the state news agency INA, "includes cooperation between both parties in the fight against terrorism, criminal offenses, drug manufacturing, human trafficking, extortion, and other crimes." It also provides for the exchange of knowledge and information between the two countries (particularly regarding the application of technologies, methods, and resources in criminal investigations), the provision of technical and scientific assistance and dispatch of specialized technical teams.

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