Hundreds of thousands of Italians and Spaniards have taken to the streets in Rome, Barcelona, and Madrid to express their fierce opposition to the Israeli military’s genocidal war on Gaza.
The protests over the weekend in nearly all significant Spanish cities had been organized for several weeks, whereas the demonstration in Rome was a response to the widespread outrage following the Israeli interception of a humanitarian aid flotilla that departed from Barcelona in an attempt to break the blockade of the Palestinian territory.
According to Rome’s police, 250,000 individuals participated, while organizers said one million were present, marking the second consecutive day of demonstrations in Italy. On Friday, Italy witnessed over two million people gather for a one-day general strike in support of the Palestinians in Gaza.
In Spain, authorities reported that 100,000 individuals took part in a march in Madrid and an additional 70,000 gathered in downtown Barcelona.
The organizers of the Madrid event said that attendance reached 400,000, whereas those in Barcelona stated that 300,000 were involved.
Although the protests remained peaceful, hours after the conclusion of the official demonstration in Barcelona, confrontations erupted between law enforcement and several hundred individuals, some of whom engaged in vandalizing shops and instigated panic among both shoppers and onlookers.
Activists also called upon Spaniards to participate in marches in Valencia, Sevilla, Malaga, and various other cities.
Smaller demonstrations were held in Paris, Lisbon, Athens, and North Macedonia’s capital city of Skopje, as well as in London and Manchester, England.
The demonstration in Rome, which took a path near the Colosseum, was organized by three Palestinian groups in collaboration with local unions and students.
At Piazza San Giovanni, demonstrators shouted and clapped in support of Francesca Albanese, an Italian serving as the United Nations special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories and a prominent critic of Israel.
Despite the organizers’ request for attendees to carry only Palestinian flags, several banners were displayed that praised Hezbollah and Hamas resistance groups.
One of the banners stated, “October 7, Day of Palestinian Resistance,” referring to the large-scale and surprise Hamas attack, dubbed Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, against the usurping Tel Aviv regime on October 7, 2023.
Another large flag read, “Death, death to the Israeli military.” Additionally, a group was reported by the public broadcaster RAI to have chanted the same slogan.
Opposition lawmaker Riccardo Magi, who serves as the secretary of the center-left Piu Europa (more Europe) party and participated in the march, criticized Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s administration for its refusal to acknowledge a Palestinian state, in contrast to Spain, France, the United Kingdom, and several other Western nations.
“Meloni cannot continue with this obscene victimhood: these are spontaneous demonstrations against the inaction and complicity of her government. She must acknowledge this and begin working diplomatically for peace,” Magi told Italian media.
In recent weeks, Spain has experienced a significant increase in support for Palestinians, coinciding with its left-wing government’s heightened diplomatic initiatives against the far-right administration of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Protests opposing the participation of an Israeli-owned cycling team consistently interrupted the Spanish Vuelta last month, while Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez referred to the devastation in Gaza as a “genocide” and advocated for a ban on all Israeli teams from competing in international sports events.
The day of protests commenced in Barcelona as crowds filled the expansive Passeig de Gracia, the primary central boulevard of the city, before noon. Numerous families participated alongside individuals of various ages, all displaying Palestinian flags. Signs held by protesters featured slogans such as “Gaza hurts me,” “Stop the Genocide,” and “Hands off the flotilla.”
More than 40 Spaniards, including a former mayor of Barcelona, were part of the 450 activists that Israel removed from the flotilla’s vessels this week.
Protesters hope they can inspire further protests and persuade European leaders to implement a more stringent approach towards Israel.
María Jesús Parra, aged 63, waved a Palestinian flag following a one-hour journey from another town to Barcelona. She urges the European Union to take action against what she refers to as the atrocities she observes on television news.
“How is it possible that we are witnessing a genocide happening live after what we (as Europe) experienced in the 1940s?” Parra said. “Now nobody can say they didn’t know what was happening.”
Individuals in Madrid paraded behind banners displaying the messages “Shame” and “Racist War, Free Palestine,” while vocally expressing the chant “Netanyahu (is a) Killer.”
Authorities in Greece believe that a larger protest and march will be organized on Sunday to coincide with a pro-Israeli demonstration. The two events are separated by roughly 3 kilometers (2 miles), and police will be stationed to obstruct the pro-Palestinian march towards the Israeli embassy, as has occurred in the past.
Meanwhile, thousands of people have taken part in a pro-Palestinian rally in Dublin. Organizers said the protest marks “two years of genocide in Gaza” and called on the Irish government to sanction Israel.
It is the 17th such demonstration convened by the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC), which has seen tens of thousands of people gather in the streets of the Irish capital over the last two years.
The march on Saturday commenced at the Garden of Remembrance located on Parnell Square and was scheduled to conclude at Leinster House, which serves as the seat of the Irish Parliament, where a series of speeches were to take place.
Participants, comprising left-leaning political organizations and labor unions, displayed banners and waved Palestinian flags.
[ SOURCE: AL JAZEERA and NEWS AGENCIES ]
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