Congress approves the arms embargo on Israel after support from Podemos and rejection from the PP

Eduardo González The Plenary Session of the Congress approved this Wednesday the validation of the Royal Decree-Law that legally consolidates the arms embargo on Israel thanks to the last-minute decision of Podemos to support the text and with the dissenting votes of the People’s Party, which kept its decision secret until the last minute. The text—which received 178 votes in favor (PSOE, Sumar, ERC, Junts, Bildu, PNV, Podemos, Compromís, Coalición Canaria, and BNG) and 169 against (PP and Vox); UPN abstained—will be processed as a bill, which will allow Sumar to introduce an amendment against the exception clause included by the Executive. “This is a functioning government that hasn't stopped working for the benefit of its citizens and in defense of freedoms and rights. Today, Congress ratifies the Royal Decree-Law on the arms embargo against Israel,” wrote Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on social media. The “Royal Decree-Law adopting urgent measures against the genocide in Gaza and in support of the Palestinian population,” approved on September 23 by the Council of Ministers, prohibits the purchase and sale of defense material to Israel and prevents the transit through Spain of fuels suitable for military use destined for that same country. The text includes an additional provision allowing “exceptions to safeguard the general national interest, as well as the total or partial withdrawal of the measures,” which was harshly criticized by Sumar, the minority partner in the coalition government. The Royal Decree-Law, which is one of the nine measures announced on September 8 by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to "stop the genocide" in Gaza by Israel, "legally strengthens the arms embargo that Spain has implemented since October 2023," according to the Ministry of Economy reported that same day. In the debate held this Tuesday in the plenary session of Congress on the Royal Decree-Law, the Minister of Economy, Carlos Cuerpo, stated that it is "a text of maximums that pushes the limits of international and EU regulations" and affirmed that the Government will apply the Royal Decree "with the utmost rigor." Although the debate took place on Tuesday, the Congressional Board of Speakers decided at the last minute to postpone the vote until the following day to avoid it coinciding with October 7, the anniversary of the Hamas attacks, after the Israeli Embassy described as "perverse, inhumane, and aberrant" the choice of a date for the vote when "the entire people of Israel and Jewish communities are in mourning, remembering their victims." PP and Podemos During the debate, Podemos and the PP did not clarify their stance on the vote. This week, Cuca Gamarra, the PP's deputy secretary for Institutional Regeneration, warned that, "when we talk about making decisions regarding the termination of contracts that affect national security, it must be absolutely guaranteed that national security is not affected." Similarly, Ester Muñoz, the party's spokesperson in Congress, stated that, if the embargo goes ahead, "Spain will probably be the one most harmed" because our country exports more than it imports to Israel. During Tuesday's debate, Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo, the PP's deputy spokesperson, stated that the "coquettish and hypocritical exclusion clause for the general interest" turns the Royal Decree into a "fake embargo." Curiously, this is the same expression, "fake embargo," used repeatedly by Podemos, whose four votes were decisive in securing the agreement's validation. Had they voted against it, the Royal Decree could have received exactly half the votes (taking into account the rejections of the PP, Vox, and UPN, although the latter ultimately did not occur), which, in compliance with the Lower House's regulations, would have resulted in the proposal failing. For this reason, Sumar, despite its harsh criticism of the exception clause introduced in the text, clearly supported its adoption and was highly critical of the parties opposed to the text, with particular attention to Podemos. The best example of this was the Second Vice President of the Government and leader of Sumar, Yolanda Díaz, who this Tuesday called for support for the Royal Decree and warned the PP and Podemos that the choice is "very simple: to be on the side of international legality and the condemnation of the genocide in Gaza or to defend the criminal regime" of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Finally, Podemos announced this Wednesday that it would allow the "validation" of the Royal Decree-Law because "it is the best way for everyone to see that Spain continues to maintain military relations with Israel" and to avoid "being used as an excuse by the PSOE to do nothing and continue maintaining military relations with Israel," according to Ione Belarra, MP and Secretary General of Podemos. In a video released on social media, Belarra once again denounced the "fake embargo" defended by the government, "which does not address Spain's two main contributions to the genocide in Palestine: on the one hand, the sale and purchase of arms and, on the other, the transit of military equipment destined for Israel." Once the Royal Decree was validated, Sumar and the government's parliamentary partners secured a second reading of the text, under an urgent procedure, in order to introduce amendments to the exception clause included by the executive branch. The People’s Party voted against this second reading.

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