<h6><strong>The Diplomat</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The Ministry of Defense has revoked the licenses of the Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense System to manufacture SPIKE LR2 missiles against fifth-generation combat vehicles in Spain, one of the largest businesses our country maintained with the Israeli military industry, according to government sources reported to Cadena SER.</strong></h4> The agreement between the two parties was finalized on November 23, 2023, a month and a half after the Hamas attacks in Israel, which caused 1,200 deaths, and the subsequent military response by Benjamin Netanyahu's government against the Gaza Strip, where more than 54,000 people have already died. Israeli soldiers had been able to verify the effectiveness of the SPIKE LR2 missiles during their attacks on Hamas bunkers in Gaza. For this reason, and citing the "obsolescence of the systems used," the Ministry of Defense awarded Pap Tecnos—the Spanish subsidiary of the Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense System—the supply of 168 SPIKE LR2 anti-tank missile systems for a total value of €287.4 million, payable over five years, to equip the Army and Marines. Although the Ministry of Defense initially decided not to terminate this contract, arguing that Pap Tecnos is a "Spanish company" whose "technology supplier is the Israeli company Rafael," the Department headed by Margarita Robles ultimately ordered the "license revocation," according to the aforementioned government sources confirmed to Cadena SER. The government has also decided to seek other market alternatives that do not depend on Israeli technology, thus fulfilling its commitment to veto any purchase and sale transaction with the State of Israel due to violations of international law in Gaza. This is in accordance with the "military disengagement" plan put forward by the Secretary of State for Defense, Amparo Valcarce, to reduce "technological dependence on Israel" to zero. Specifically, on May 23, the government denied entry into the port of Cartagena to a Danish-flagged cargo ship from the Israeli port of Haifa because it was carrying weapons from Israel, specifically "components" for manufacturing SPIKE LR2 missiles, according to military sources told SER. The government has taken the same decision with the Silam rocket launcher, another program that has been halted in order to seek other alternatives outside of Israel.
