Over the past two weeks, Israelis with accounts at the Spanish bank Sabadell encountered trouble transferring funds from Israel. The bank demanded they fill out forms declaring that the money did not originate from Judea and Samaria, submit notarized and translated tax reports, and commit that they were not violating a Spanish royal decree regarding "genocide in Gaza." On Thursday, the Israeli Embassy in Spain informed customers that the bank had pledged to halt the practice.
Shlomit (a pseudonym), an Israeli who previously lived in Spain and bought an apartment there, said that about 10 days ago, she tried to transfer funds to her Sabadell account to pay her mortgage. The money never arrived. "I contacted the bank, and they told me that due to sanctions on Israel and their internal policy, they couldn't process the transfer," she said. "They asked for all my tax reports, translated by a notary into English and Spanish. That demand was totally unreasonable."
Shlomit hired a Spanish lawyer, who contacted the bank to clarify the legal basis for their actions. After receiving a response, the lawyer threatened to sue. Two days later, the bank allowed the transfer, without updating the lawyer. "I really hope this gets resolved and there won't be more issues," she said. Israeli friends of hers in Spain also said they were unable to transfer money unless they declared that the source was not from Judea and Samaria.
A document sent by the bank to Israeli customers, obtained by Israel Hayom, contained extraordinary requirements. Titled "Declaration Form on the Purpose of Goods/Services for Export/Import to Israel," it required customers to affirm that their transaction did not violate restrictions imposed by a Spanish royal decree dated September 23, 2025, "which adopted urgent measures against genocide in Gaza and in support of the Palestinian population."
Customers were required to state the geographic origin of their funds and confirm that "in the case of an import transaction, the products involved do not originate from Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, in accordance with the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice dated July 19, 2024."
Beyond the inherent discrimination of singling out only Israeli citizens for such declarations, and the liquidity challenges this caused for Israelis with financial dealings in Spain, there were concerns that other countries considering boycotts of Israel would emulate this policy. "Do they conduct similar checks on funds coming from Iran or Lebanon or other places where there are human rights concerns?" asked another Israeli living in Spain. "Of course not. This is something targeted specifically at Israel, and if it continues, we are planning to sue the bank."
On Thursday, Israelis living in Spain received a message from the Israeli Embassy saying, "We received a commitment from the bank that the steps taken against Israeli clients and the requirement to sign the accompanying form have been stopped. Please update us if anyone continues to experience difficulties with them." According to Israeli residents in Spain, the efforts were led by Dana Erlich, the Head of Mission at the Israeli Embassy in Spain.
