Spanish vandals target light rail cars built for Israel

“We discovered where CAF stores the trams that are heading to Tel Aviv because they were marked in Hebrew, and faced with that, we did not remain passive,” the group said.

By World Israel News Staff

Masked anti-Israel activists vandalized several light rail cars manufactured in Spain for Israel’s Tel Aviv-area transit system, smashing windows and spraying anti-Israel slogans on the vehicles before their planned shipment to Israel, according to Basque media reports.

The cars, built by Spanish rail manufacturer CAF, were being stored in northern Spain. They were intended for the Tel Aviv metropolitan area’s Purple Line.

Video published by Basque outlet Argia and circulated on social media showed hooded activists entering a storage area, approaching rail cars marked with Hebrew lettering, breaking windows and spraying red paint across the vehicles.

One slogan read “Israel suntsitu,” Basque for “destroy Israel.” Another accused CAF of being complicit.

The activists said in a statement published by Argia that they had located the vehicles because of their Hebrew markings.

“We discovered where CAF stores the trams that are heading to Tel Aviv because they were marked in Hebrew, and faced with that, we did not remain passive,” the group said.

The group said the action was meant to pressure CAF over its business with Israel, including its role in light rail projects in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. It also said it wanted to show that, despite claims that the trains were produced outside the Basque Country, CAF’s Israel-related logistics continued to use “roads, ports and warehouses” in the region.

The Israeli Metropolitan Mass Transit System company, known as NTA, confirmed that CAF had informed it of the incident.

NTA said the vandalism involved “several carriages intended for the Purple Line” that were painted with anti-Israel slogans and had windows damaged. The company said CAF was handling the repairs, including cleaning the cars and replacing or repairing damaged glass.

“It should be noted that the incident has no impact on the progress of the Purple Line,” NTA said in a statement.

Israel Hayom reported that no arrests had been made as of Sunday.

The vandalism came during a broader week of protests against CAF organized by anti-Israel and BDS-linked groups in the Basque Country. Activists planned demonstrations at CAF-linked facilities in Zornotza, Irun and Castejón, as well as a June 13 protest in Beasain during the company’s shareholders meeting.

The dispute over CAF’s Israel work has grown in recent years.

CAF, together with Israeli company Shapir, has been involved in the Jerusalem Light Rail project, including work on the Red and Green lines.