The Quench agreement links the University of the Basque Country with the Israel Institute of Technology, a research centre of great importance in the military industrial network of the Zionist state, according to Ahoztar Zelaieta. As El Salto en el medio de comunicación, TEKNIKER and Tecnalia, two member entities of the UPV, have signed agreements with an Israeli company that sells weapons “tested in combat” to the Government of Spain.

The UPV/EHU publicly stated in April that it would break relations with Israeli universities and institutions if they did not “expressly reject the human rights violations they are suffering in Palestine”. In addition, it temporarily suspended a chair on Cybersecurity, involving the University of Tel Aviv and an expert linked to the Zionist army. However, Zelaieta explained that he has not completely interrupted relations and that Basque research groups and Israel continue to work together.

Tecnalia is a member of the UPV/EHU, the Basque Government and the Provincial Councils of Álava, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa, among others. Quench is a European project researching nuclear magnetic resonance, involving the UPV and Tecnalia since 1 January 2024. The Quench project involves the Technion Research and Development and the Israel Technological Institute. According to Zelaieta, these Israeli organizations are of great importance in the Zionist military industrial network.

The company Technion has developed, according to El Salto, the bulldozers used in Palestine to demolish houses, excavators with remote control. They further explain that Technion has curriculum for Zionist military personnel and is closely linked to the Elbit Systems group. The latter sells “proven” weapons to the Spanish Ministry of Defence in Gaza. Drones and mortar systems, among others, alerted a Catalan observatory.

An UPV quantum technology research group is involved in the Quench project, which investigates nuclear magnetic resonance. The UPV/EHU has pointed out, responding to the questions of El Salto, that there are many research groups that collaborate with universities around the world. The public university has determined that many of these groups receive international funding, but “receiving funding does not mean developing direct and voluntary relationships with other funded universities”. They therefore say that the UPV/EHU has not broken the decision to break with the Zionists.