US to investigate Spain’s reported port denials of ships carrying arms to Israel

The United States has opened an investigation into whether NATO ally Spain has been denying port entry to cargo vessels reportedly transporting U.S. weapons to Israel.

The Federal Maritime Commission, an independent body charged with monitoring and evaluating conditions that may affect shipping and U.S. international trade, said it had opened the probe after receiving information that Spain had refused to allow at least three cargo vessels into its ports.

“The commission is concerned that this apparent policy of denying entry to certain vessels will create conditions unfavorable to shipping in the foreign trade,” it said in a notice published in the Federal Register.

If the investigation determines that Spain has interfered with such commerce, the commission could levy millions of dollars in fines, up to $2.3 million per voyage, it said.

Israel’s military said on Friday that it planned to reinforce its forces stationed in the Golan Heights and near the border with Syria, where civil war has reignited between the government and rebel groups.

The Israeli military said in a statement that it was “monitoring developments and is prepared for all scenarios, offensive and defensive alike.”

After 13 years of civil war, Syrian insurgents are gaining ground, first taking cities in the country’s north and on Friday entering cities in central Syria.

Lebanon’s General Security Directorate said Friday the country is closing all land border crossing with Syria except for a main one that links Beirut with the Syrian capital Damascus.

The decision by the security agency in charge of border crossings came hours after an Israeli airstrike damaged the Arida border crossing with Syria in north Lebanon, days after it was reopened.

Israel said Friday that “thousands of food packages and sacks of flour” were delivered to the isolated northernmost reaches of Gaza.

COGAT, the Israeli military agency that controls the border crossings into Gaza, said the aid was delivered to the town of Beit Hanoun. COGAT released photos of flatbed trucks driving past rubble, some carrying what appeared to be 55 pound sacks of aid and others with cargo covered under tarps.