Israel welcomed the announcement by the Basque terrorist underground, Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA), that it has decided to lay down arms and renounce the path of terror forever.
"Israel sees this as a positive step that could lead to ending the violence [there], and that benefits democracy in its struggle against terrorism", the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The Foreign Ministry noted, "Israel hopes that this step will set an example for other terror organizations, and that they will abandon the path of terror, which leads only to death and suffering."
"Israel shares the aspirations and hopes of Spanish society to live in a democracy free from the threat of terror," added the Foreign Ministry.
The Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA), or Basque Homeland and Freedom, was founded in 1959 during the reign of Spain's fascist dictator Franscico Franco, who ruled Spain from 1939 until his death in 1975. Originally a political organization, ETA evolved into an underground terror milita by 1968.
Since that time ETA terrorists have killed an estimated 829 people, inured thousands, and conducted scores of kidnappings. It is proscribed as a terror organization by France, Spain, the rest of the European Union, and United States.
ETA previously declared cease-fires in 1989, 1996, 2998, and 2006, but subsequently broke them. The current declaration is widely seen as much more comprehensive and permanent.
However, while the ETA's directorial committee can command the main apparatus of the organization, it remains to be seen if its taldes ("groups"), or commandos, will adhere to the decision or break away and continue the path of terror.
Following the 1969 Northern Ireland Riots, more aggressive elements of the Irish Republican Army broke away from the group's senior leadership over differences of ideology in the wake of clashes between police and protesters in Derry.
The resulting new organization, called the Provisional IRA, (PIRA) or Provos, conducted a terror campaign that resulted in the deaths of some 1,100 security personnel and 675 civilians before it declared an end to violence in 2005.
Despite the PIRA formally declaring an end to armed resistance in 2005, reports from the British security services maintain the group remains active in the realm of organized crime and provides logistical support to other terror movements - including Hamas and Hizbullah.