Spain cancels purchase of 15 million bullets from Israel for Guardia Civil police

The six-million-euro contract for ammunition had been awarded to the same company that supplied the problematic Ramon pistols

Melchor Sáiz-Pardo

Madrid

Sunday, 3 November 2024, 06:51

Spain's interior ministry, headed by Fernando Grande-Marlaska has ordered the start of proceedings to "rescind" the award to the Israeli company Guardian Defense & Homeland Security S.A., a subsidiary of the international group Guardian LTD Israel, of a contract valued at 6,642,900 euros for the purchase of 15,300,000 9mm Parabelum calibre bullets for the arsenals of the Guardia Civil.

"The Spanish government has maintained its commitment not to sell arms to the Israeli state since the outbreak of the armed conflict in Gaza. Although in this case it is a purchase of ammunition, the interior ministry has initiated the administrative procedure to cancel the purchase," said official government sources, who added that "other Israeli companies will be excluded as bidders in other arms purchases currently being processed by the Guardia Civil.

The decision to try to halt this purchase (tendered on 21 February 2024 and awarded on 21 October) comes after Cadena Ser reported on Tuesday that the interior ministry, unlike the ministry of defence, was continuing to do business with Israeli arms companies, despite the fact that in February the country's foreign affairs ministry assured that Spain had agreed a "total embargo" on arms to Israel, without specifying whether this measure also included the purchase.

Another controversial aspect to this contract is the fact that the company awarded this million-dollar contract, Homeland Security, is the same company that in October 2022 won the tender for the sale of 9,216 pistols, the controversial Ramon weapons, which were denounced by several professional organisations as they often jammed.

The Israeli company Emtan and its distributor, Guardian Homeland, strongly denied these criticisms, although it is true that they had to make modifications to all the guns because some brands of ammunition (not their own) were causing faults.

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