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Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares. (Photo: Sicherheitskonferenz, via Wikimedia Commons)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

The Spanish Foreign Minister declared on Tuesday that Spain has suspended all arms exports to Israel since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza on October 7.

In an interview with Al-Jazeera, José Manuel Albares declared that, since October 7, Madrid suspended all arms export licenses to Israel, noting that the events of that day “made us realize the importance of a just and permanent solution to the question of the Palestinian people.”

The Spanish minister has highlighted how Israel has bombed United Nations facilities, schools and hospitals in the Gaza Strip, and urged all parties to comply with the orders of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Albares has also reiterated that Madrid calls for a permanent and immediate ceasefire in Gaza, pointing out that over 27,000 Palestinians have already been killed by Israel during the ongoing war.

The Spanish Foreign Minister has added that his country wants to prevent an escalation of violence in the region. 

Belgium and Japan

On Tuesday, the Wallonia regional government in Belgium suspended licenses to export munitions, specifically gunpowder, to Israel after the ICJ ruled against it.

“The January 26 order of the International Court of Justice, the main judicial organ of the United Nations, as well as the unacceptable deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip led the Minister-President to temporarily suspend the valid licenses”, the Minister of Housing, Christophe Collignon, said.

On Monday, the Japanese Itochu Corporation’s aviation unit announced that it will end its cooperation with Israeli defense contractor company Elbit Systems Ltd by the end of February following the ICJ ruling.

“Taking into consideration the International Court of Justice’s order on January 26, and that the Japanese government supports the role of the Court, we have already suspended new activities related to the MOU, and plan to end the MOU by the end of February,” Itochu Chief Financial Officer Tsuyoshi Hachimura said.

The International Court of Justice ordered Israel on January 26 to take measures to prevent and punish direct incitement of genocide in its ongoing war in Gaza.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 27,585 Palestinians have been killed, and 66,978 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.

(The Palestine Chronicle)

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