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Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Barcelona on Saturday to show solidarity with Palestinians and call for an end to arms sales to Israel, as part of a wave of protests across Spain.
Marchers, estimated by police at around 70,000, carried a large red banner declaring: “Stop the genocide in Palestine. End the arms trade with Israel.”
Demonstrators chanted slogans including “Boycott Israel” and “Free Palestine” as they made their way peacefully through the city centre.
“Israel’s policy has been wrong for many years, and we must take to the streets,” said Marta Carranza, a 65-year-old pensioner draped in a Palestinian flag.
She referenced the interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla on Thursday, a fleet of about 45 vessels attempting to break the blockade of Gaza.
Several Spaniards on the flotilla remain detained by Israel, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said. Organisers of the flotilla have described the interception as “illegal,” noting that the ships were in international waters.
Among the demonstrators was Jordi Bas, a 40-year-old primary school teacher waving a Palestinian flag. “It was predictable that many people would turn out today.
People are beginning to wake up a bit,” he said. “Seeing the world mobilising in solidarity gives Palestinians a little encouragement.”
Similar marches were planned later on Saturday in Madrid and other Spanish cities. Spain has seen recent large-scale protests, including around 100,000 people halting the final stage of the Vuelta a España cycling race in Madrid in September, when an Israeli team was competing.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called for Israel to be barred from international sport over its military actions in Gaza, citing parallels with sanctions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.
Spain has been a vocal critic of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, launched in retaliation for the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, which left 1,219 Israelis dead, mostly civilians.
Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip have killed at least 66,288 Palestinians, predominantly civilians, according to figures from Gaza’s health ministry verified by the United Nations.
In September, Spain announced a ban on imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, which UN rights chief Volker Turk has described as a war crime.
