Congress will take the first step toward a full arms embargo on Israel.

MadridThe PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) agrees to open the debate on a total arms embargo on Israel. That is, to cut off all arms trade relations with the country led by Benjamin Netanyahu, who has an international arrest warrant in force for the offensive in Gaza. "What deepens does not harm. We want the position of the PSOE and the Spanish government to be clear," López stressed, denying any change in his party's position on this issue. The agreement has continued to sign since October 7, 2023, when the war in the Middle East resumed. They showed that this was not the caseAll of this came to light following the controversial Civil Guard contract for the purchase of bullets, which the Spanish government had promised to cancel but which, however, went ahead.

Spanish President Pedro Sánchez ordered the suspension of this contract, clearly disavowing Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, who is appearing before the House of Representatives this Wednesday. The head of the state executive is now managing these contradictions. calling for Israel's expulsion from Eurovision and voting in favor of this arms embargo initiative, but that doesn't mean the initiative will ultimately see the light of day. It would barely be the beginning of the process, and procedures often remain on the shelf until the PSOE decides to unblock them. It remains to be seen whether Sumar and Podemos have enough strength to prevent it from getting stuck.

In fact, Defense Minister Margarita Robles has already cooled her own party's request and said that "it should be reviewed on a case-by-case basis" when making a decision by the Spanish government regarding its purchases from Israel. "If these are products that are absolutely essential for the security of our military, that will have to be assessed," she noted in statements to the press at the entrance of the EU Defense Council this Tuesday in Brussels, according to reports. Gerard Fageda.

The Eurovision controversy

Meanwhile, the Catalan government also joined the fray this Tuesday over Israel's participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. Spokesperson and Regional Minister for Territory, Silvia Paneque, avoided taking a position on whether Israel should be expelled from the contest, as was done with Russia, but warned of the dangers of maintaining a "double standard" with the Middle Eastern country in the wake of the massacre in the Gaza Strip. "The double standard regarding Israel's participation weakens us, both in the fight to ensure human rights and in Europe itself, as a group of European countries," she insisted at the press conference following the Executive Council meeting. Martina Alcobendas.

Along the same lines, the Spanish government has opened the door to supporting a hypothetical debate on expelling Israel from sporting competitions such as the Olympic and Paralympic Games. It is not on the table, but the Minister of Sports and spokesperson for the Moncloa, Pilar Alegría, has assured that Spain would participate in this discussion if it were opened by the federations and Olympic committees. However, the Spanish government points out that in sports, it is more difficult to ban athletes and, in fact, the Russians have participated under a neutral flag.

On the other hand, the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, attacks the Socialists in order, in his opinion, to take advantage of this controversy to divert attention from the judicial cases surrounding Pedro Sánchez, from the Koldo case to the investigation into the Spanish president's wife, Begoña Gómez. At a news conference on Tuesday, he dismissed it as yet another diversionary tactic. "Eurovision is the new Franco of the [Spanish] government," said the PP leader, referring to the equally criticized commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the dictator's death. "Sánchez's first concern is not who sings at Eurovision, but who sings for his party," he quipped.