Spain unveils measures against Israel, including arms embargo

MADRID - Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday announced a series of measures against Israel in a televised address from his official residence at the Palacio de la Moncloa.

Sanchez outlined nine steps his government will take, confirming that on Tuesday the cabinet will approve a decree enforcing an arms embargo on Israel.

In addition to the embargo, Spain will close its airspace and ports to aircraft transporting weapons to Israel or ships carrying fuel for the Israeli armed forces. It will also ban products originating from illegal Israeli settlements and increase funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), among other measures.

While acknowledging that the steps "will not be enough", Sanchez said they are intended to increase pressure on Israel and "alleviate some of the suffering of the Palestinian people".

On March 18, Israel resumed its military operations in Gaza. At least 11,911 Palestinians have been killed and 50,735 others injured since Israel renewed its intensive strikes, bringing the total death toll since October 2023 to 64,455 and the number of injured to 162,776, Gaza health authorities said on Sunday.