An investigation of the Palestinian Youth Movement, to which eldiario.es has had access, reveals that Spain facilitates transit and transford of goods from Israeli illegal settlements to the US. The research team has detected shipments to the US from Israel, through Spanish ports, from November 8, 2024 to June 18, 2025, with materials from companies settled in colonies in Palestinian territory.
Most of the shipments producing these shipments are registered in the Barkan Industry Zone, located in the occupied West Bank. Barkan is an illegal settlement founded in 1981 by members of the Betar Revisionist Sionist Right Movement. Its industrial zone houses more than two hundred factories and businesses and has been the scene of violent acts of Israeli settlers against Palestine population.
The settlement was chosen in 2017 by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reaffirm his efforts in the illegal annexation of land: “We are here to stay. Forever,” he then proclaimed from Barkan the president now required by the International Criminal Court.
Palestinian Youth Movement researchers who have accessed this information about transfers in Spain denounce that the support of port infrastructure to this supply chain “facilitates this type of trade” and “contributes to the sustainability of the economies of illegal settlements.”
The opinion of the Hague Court asks the countries that prevent trade that contribute to Israeli illegal occupation
What does the law and court say
Several resolutions of the United Nations ask Israel to withdraw from the illegally occupied Palestinian territories in 1967: East Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Bank, as well as the high Syrian gate, also illegally anxious by Israel.
In addition, last July, the International Court of Justice issued a historic opinion in which it indicates that all states have “the obligation to refrain from establishing economic or commercial treatment with Israel” in all cases in which it acts in the name of the Palestinian occupied territories or parts of them or “that they can consolidate their illegal presence in the territory”.
This Court of Hague also demands to the states measures “to prevent commercial and investment relations” that contribute to the illegal Israeli occupation.
In line with that opinion, the UN General Assembly approved last September a resolution that requires the end of the illegal Israeli occupation within one year, and asks states to prevent commercial relations that contribute to it. Spain was one of the 124 countries that voted in favor.
United Nations Rapporteurs have stressed that maintaining or facilitating trade with companies settled in occupied Palestinian areas helps to swell the coffers of these companies and strengthen the occupation. International Law prohibits “the population transfer of occupying power to the occupied territory.” This action is considered a war crime and can be judged by the International Criminal Court.
This supply chain is reinforced by the use of port infrastructure that facilitates such trade and contributes to the sustainability of settlements
Palestinian Youth Movement
Companies and products
These new findings that have accessed this newspaper have been obtained from the importation data of the United States, which means that “they possibly reflect only a small part” of the total volume of goods from settlements that make transford in Spanish ports. There is also a Greek port that appears in this information.
Palestinian Youth Movement researchers claim that they present these information “in good faith to support the ongoing efforts” to “ensure that commercial policies and port operations of Spain are not accomplices of violations of international law.”
Recently one hundred sixty -two civil rights organizations and unions have denounced that the EU continues to trade and allow businesses with illegal settlements, “which contributes to perpetuating the serious violations of human rights and international law, inexorably linked to the maintenance and expansion of settlements.”
Ronopolidan
Among the products detected in these shipments with transfers in the ports of Valencia and Barcelona there are merchandise of companies such as Ronopolidan Ltd, based in the Israeli neighborhood of Barkan, located in occupied Palestinian territory, in the West Bank. It is a company that produces packaging equipment for food, drinks and medicines.
On March 25, 2025, the MSC Paris ship (IMO: 9301483) arrived in Valencia from the Israeli port of Haifa with polyethylene film of the Ronopolidan company. The merchandise moved to the MSC Niovi VIII (IMO: 9290488) ship before sailing to the United States.
In November 2024 another ship, the Epaminondas (IMO: 9153862) arrived in Barcelona from Haifa, also with the same Ronopolidan material. These merchandise were transBorsed to the Serangoon Maersk (IMO: 9315214), which sailed towards the US on November 21, 2024. In the documents on these shipments and its transport appears the illegal industry zone of Barkan as the address of the expendator.
Ofertex Industries
Merchandise of the Textile OfferTex Industries LTD company, whose main floor operates in the illegal industrial zone of Barkan, have also been detected. OFFERTEX appears in the database of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights that collects the names of the companies involved in activities related to illegal settlements.
In the 2012 report “Traffic with La Paz: how Europe helps maintain illegal Israeli settlements,” OfferTex also appeared as a manufacturing company based in industrial areas of Israeli colonies that exported products to Europe.
On December 29, 2024, the MSC Madrid ship (IMO: 9480198) arrived in Valencia from Haifa with merchandise from OfferTex. This load was transferred to MSC Susanna (IMO: 9290543), which started from the Valencian capital on January 4, 2025. The documents of this shipment mention the industrial zone of Barkan in the direction of the expendator.
ISM Magen Goldman Safes Enclosure
ISM MAGEN GOLDMAN SAFES ENCLOSURE LTD. is an Israeli manufacturer of safety products, such as safes and armored vaults. Its headquarters is also located in the illegal industrial zone of Barkan, in the occupied West Bank.
On January 24, 2025, the MSC Bremerhaven ship (IMO: 9313967) arrived in Valencia from Haifa with nine boxes of this company. This load was transferred to the MSC Brunella (IMO: 9702106), which departed from Valencia on January 29 and delivered the merchandise to Seattle, in the US. Like the shipments mentioned above, Barkan’s settlement also appears as the issuer’s address.
Best Stones
Another company based in Barkan is Best Stones Ltd., dedicated to the sale of natural, modern and old stones. On April 2, 2025, the MSC Darien ship (IMO: 9243394) arrived in Barcelona from haifa with limestone of Best Stones. This load was transferred to the MSC ship. Tomoko (IMO: 9309461), which departed from Barcelona on April 7 and delivered the merchandise in New Orleans, Louisiana.
HISHERIK
Pinhas Hisherik Ltd. is a steel provider that operates in the illegal settlement of Barkan. The Hansa Rotenberg ship (IMO: 9401673) arrived in Greece, from the Israeli Puerto de Ashdod, on January 26, 2025, transporting material for Vallas of Pinhas Hisherik.
The load was subsequently transferred to the Mimmi Schulte ship (IMO: 9743473), which left El Piraeo on February 22 and arrived in Valencia on February 25. In the Valencian port there was another transford, to the OOCL Europe (IMO: 9300805), which came out on March 31 and delivered the merchandise in Miami, Florida. The documents indicate that Orient Overseas Container Line (OOC) is the company with legal law on said merchandise.
Spain has published the data of April 2025, in which ‘an import flow’ of 3,366,366 euros in the code corresponding to bombs, grenades, mines, missiles, ammunition, projectiles and its parts appears
Transits through Spanish ports
They also mention transits through Spanish ports of products from illegal Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Highs of the Golán de Syria, also illegally occupied. They are materials from companies such as Exal, Mapal or Tirehaladi, in the same period of time: from November 2024 to June 2025. They are aluminum shipments, tires or polypropylene sheets, among others.
In addition to this trade from illegal settlements, through Spanish ports, ships that are part of the weapons shipping chain to Israel from the US, bound for Tangier to collect military material before continuing to Israeli ports continue to be passed.
Until November 2024 there was military merchandise making traffic or transford in Spanish coasts. From then on, ships with weapons have not been detected, although the researchers do not rule out that they could continue to pass. “That is why we ask for an integral embargo, so that the pertinent surveillance and control mechanisms are launched,” says more than 600 civil society organizations.
New Imports of Israeli Armament to Spain
This week the Ministry of State for Commerce has published the April data this year, in which an import flow of 3,366,366 euros appears in the Code 9306901000, corresponding to bombs, grenades, torpedoes, mines, missiles, cartridges and other ammunition and projectiles, and its parts. A small export also appears, with Code 9306290 for total value of 15,275 euros.
The solidarity network against the occupation of Palestine, the campaign for the end of the trade of weapons with Israel, and the 600 organizations that comprise it have been asking the Spanish government for a while to adopt an integral armament embargo urgently with a royal decree, to avoid the wait for indefinite time of the processing of a bill “which can suffer changes and limit only to prohibit exports”.
Today Spain maintains arms relations with Israel and on the State contracting platform no purchase contract for Israeli companies revoked. From October 2023 to April 2025 Spain awarded or formalized 46 contracts for the purchase of military material to Israeli companies, its subsidiaries or mediators, according to state data.
He also made 88 weapon shipments to Israel and allowed traffic and/or ships with military material, according to the report of the Center delàs de la Paz, which highlights that the figure of Israeli customs over exports from Spain under Code 93 is 5 times higher than that provided by the Spanish Government.
Source: www.eldiario.es
