Esquerra Republicana participated on Tuesday in an event dubbed “End the arms trade with Israel” endorsed by RESCOP—part of the BDS movement, the Delàs Centre for Peace Studies, and Greenpeace, to demand the immediate expediting of the reform of the Law on the Arms Trade, along with approval of a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel.

The event gathered representatives from Esquerra Republicana, Basque EH Bildu, Spanish leftists Sumar and Podemos, and Galician BNG, jointly requiring the bureau of the Spanish Congress to cease stalling the proposed legal reform banning the arms trade with states under investigation for genocide, introduced two years ago.

Esquerra Republicana spokesperson on the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee in the Congress, Francesc-Marc Álvaro, again denounced the genocide of the Palestinian people. He warned that the escalation of the conflict in southern Lebanon continues to aggravate instability in the Middle East, causing thousands of civilian casualties.

During his speech, Mr Álvaro recalled that the reform remains blocked because the period for amendments has not yet been closed, despite the constant exacerbation of the humanitarian situation, which he described as “incomprehensible and unjustifiable.”

In this regard, the party spokespersons together demanded that the bureau of the Congress finalize the period for amendments immediately so that the reform can begin parliamentary proceedings, also demanding that Congress definitively approves a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel. The group believes that this is a matter of democratic coherence, respect for human rights and compliance with international law.

“Neither the Spanish State nor the European Union can continue to maintain trade relations that contribute to perpetuating the conflict, and both have called for decisive political and diplomatic measures to protect the civilian population, moving towards a just and lasting peace,” said Mr Álvaro.