The government reaffirms its ban on Israeli companies at the largest defense fair.

Following the government's closing of the controversy over the contract that the Ministry of the Interior formalized for the purchase of bullets for the Civil Guard from an Israeli arms company—with President Pedro Sánchez's disavowal of his minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska—the executive will close ranks this week around its commitment "to peace and security in the Middle East" by vetoing all Israeli companies from the International Defense and Security Fair (Feindef), which has become the largest showcase for the military industry in Spain and kicks off tomorrow in Madrid.

The Ministry of Defense, which provides institutional support for the exhibition, has worked in recent months to ensure that the Israeli sector, a leader in the technological development of major weapons projects, does not leave even a trace. These include the Silam rocket launcher and the Spike anti-tank missile launcher, which are being developed in Spain, since the department headed by Margarita Robles has not found a replacement.

Feindef argues that there is no room for companies that are outside of international and humanitarian law.

Israeli companies such as Rafael Advanced Defense Systems (one of the largest players in the sector), Elbit Systems (which provides the technological component for the rocket launcher manufactured in Córdoba in the supply chain), and Guardian Defense & Homeland Security (the company awarded the 6 million euros in ammunition for the Civil Guard) do not seem to have cared about the Ministry of Defense's veto, despite sources at these companies calling it discriminatory.

"The impact of the rupture is minimal for the companies because we're talking about one-off contracts that are a drop in the ocean. However, the hypocritical veto could affect projects critical to the country's defense," explains an unofficial source at one of these companies. They are so confident they have little to lose that no Israeli company has yet fought the court battle they have in France.

Experts criticize the "hypocritical" measure, despite the fact that the impact on companies due to the Spanish veto is minimal.

The French government asked Euronaval, the country's most important defense fair, to exclude Israeli companies that manufacture offensive weapons used in Gaza and Lebanon. The decision, which outraged Israel, affected five companies that did go to court. The Paris Commercial Court overturned the government's veto, deeming it discriminatory. Here in Spain, when Secretary of State for Defense Amparo Valcarce announced that there would be "no Israeli company" at Feindef—nor any institutional representation from that country—the Israeli embassy in Spain, which often airs its disagreements with the central government through social media, showed particular public rejection. However, embassy sources explained to La Vanguardia that the veto is "unfortunate" because while "Israel is fighting for its existence on seven different fronts," a decision is being made "that discriminates against the only Jewish state in the world." "In other countries, the Supreme Court has ruled that such discrimination is illegal," they add.

The president of the Feindef Foundation, Ángel Olivares, has been insisting in recent days that Spain is a "country committed" to international and humanitarian law, and therefore there is "no room" for the participation of companies that do not respect these principles. "Values ​​are not negotiable," Olivares asserted, who is convinced that this will not be an obstacle for the fair, which will feature key figures—whether in uniform like the Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces, or non-uniformed like business leaders or senior officials from the Ministry of Defense—among the exhibitors from more than 500 companies, 35% of which are international, representing 65 countries.

The fair will highlight the almost non-existent presence of industry in the Catalonia corridor compared to other regions.

More than 35,000 professionals and more than a hundred official delegations are expected to attend.

Also attending will be members of the Congressional Defense Committee. The international fair will also serve to highlight the limited presence of the defense industry in the Catalonia corridor, compared to its considerable presence in other autonomous communities.

A study by the Delàs Foundation—the organization that revealed a few weeks ago that the government awarded 46 military equipment contracts to Israeli companies since the beginning of the war in Gaza—reports that the military industry in Catalonia is "more a wish and an ambition of some companies and politicians to establish this industrial network in Catalonia than a reality." The study concludes that, aside from a few companies that supply some components, no major weapons manufacturers have taken root in Catalonia.