A group of masked individuals in Spain’s Basque region has vandalized six light rail trains belonging to the Spanish company CAF that were allegedly destined for Tel Aviv. The damage caused is likely to delay the trains’ arrival in Israel.
In early June, the attackers smashed the windows of the trains, which were being stored in the Navarre region, and sprayed them with red paint.
'We did not remain passive'
In a statement, the group said, “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.”
A spokesperson for Israel’s Metropolitan Mass Transit System (NTA) said that CAF informed it about the incident “during which several carriages intended for the Purple Line were painted with anti-Israeli slogans and several windows were damaged.”
NTA said the damage was handled by the CAF company, including cleaning and replacing/repairing the glass.
NTA said the incident has no impact whatsoever on the progress of the Purple Line project.
In September 2025, CAF was one of four Spanish companies listed in a United Nations report about 158 companies that carry out activities generating “human rights concerns” in the West Bank. The listing resulted from CAF’s involvement in the Jerusalem light rail construction project, which includes the construction of the Green Line tram as well as the extension of the existing Red Line tram, which partially runs through east Jerusalem.
Arab community makes up a significant share of tram users
CAF said at the time that it was “fully aware of the complex legal and ethical implications linked to the Jerusalem Project, in particular in relation to International Humanitarian Law and corporate responsibility,” and for this reason, carried out specific due diligence measures with three levels of intensity before taking on the project.
It also noted that the Arab community makes up a significant share of tram users and is the most frequent group of users.
In April 2026, a coalition made up of various Basque, Catalan, Spanish, and Palestinian institutions filed a complaint against CAF before the National Court, claiming the company aids “the occupation of Palestine.”
The organizations NOVACT, Comunitat Palestina de Catalunya, Committee of Solidarity with the Arab Cause, ODESCA, Peace with Dignity, and SUDS, represented by the Guernica 37 Center, admitted the case and announced that the Prosecutor’s Office had accepted it.
The Basque group Palestinarekin (Solidarity with Palestine) has been carrying out coordinated action against CAF in the town of Beasain for the last week. The Basque branch of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement will continue to gather at CAF-linked facilities in Zornotza, Irun, and Castejón in Navarre in the coming days.