Albares denounces the deaths of civilians in Palestine and Israel condemns the rescission of the ammunition purchase

Eduardo González Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares denounced this Friday Israel's military operations in Gaza and the West Bank, which continue to cause the "death" of "thousands of civilians," hours after the Israeli government condemned the decision by Pedro Sánchez's administration to unilaterally rescind the contract for the purchase of ammunition from an Israeli company "for political ends." "Israeli military operations continue to cause death in Gaza and the West Bank," Albares wrote on social media. Among the victims, he asserted, are "thousands of civilians, women, children, and humanitarian workers." "The entry of humanitarian aid must be immediate. I demand access to food and medicine," the minister continued. “For the most basic humanity, we must end the war and achieve a two-state solution. We will not resign ourselves to violence. Peace is possible. A permanent ceasefire and the release of the hostages cannot be delayed,” he concluded. Albares's message comes one day after a spokesperson for the Israeli Foreign Ministry condemned the government's decision to unilaterally terminate a contract worth more than €6.6 million with the Israeli company IMI Systems for the purchase of 15 million rounds of ammunition. The decision was made by the Prime Minister's Office, the Second Vice President (held by Sumar leader Yolanda Díaz), and the relevant ministries. The Interior Ministry's initial decision to maintain the contract caused a serious crisis within the coalition government. After learning of the news, Sumar expressed its total opposition to the operation, 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," and demanded "the immediate cancellation of the contract" and the appearance of the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, in Congress. According to sources at Moncloa, the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez himself, became personally involved in this controversy and issued instructions in the last few hours to find a solution to the problem. Consequently, the Dual-Use Material Investment Board will deny the Israeli company permission to import the material for reasons of public interest, and the Ministry of the Interior will proceed to terminate the contract. In addition, the State Attorney's Office and the relevant ministries are already studying possible legal responses and claims. Following the news, a spokesperson for the Israeli Foreign Ministry stated that, with this decision, the Spanish government "is sacrificing security considerations for political ends and continues to position itself on the wrong side of history against the Jewish State, which is defending itself against terrorist attacks on seven fronts."

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