Spain has refused permission for a ship carrying arms from India to Israel to dock at a Spanish port.

Talking to reporters the foreign minister José Manuel Albares said that Spain took this action because it is the first time Madrid has detected a ship carrying a shipment of arms to Israel that wants to call at a Spanish port.

He said the Danish-flagged ship was carrying twenty seven tonnes of explosive material from Chennai in India to the port of Haifa in Israel.

The foreign minister said that the Middle East does not need more weapons but it needs peace.