Tens of thousands of people have marched in cities across Europe to denounce Israel’s war on Gaza, with large demonstrations held on Saturday in the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, and Portugal.
In Spain, mass rallies were staged in Barcelona and Madrid, with Barcelona police estimating a turnout of around 70,000 people.
The protests were planned weeks in advance, while new demonstrations in Rome and Lisbon were sparked by outrage over Israel’s interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla — a humanitarian convoy that set sail from Barcelona to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza.
Israel detained more than 450 activists from the flotilla this week, including over 40 Spaniards and a former Barcelona mayor.
Italy has also seen significant mobilization, with more than two million people joining a nationwide general strike on Friday in solidarity with Palestinians.
In Spain, public support for Gaza has surged amid Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s sharp criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. Sánchez has labeled the war on Gaza a “genocide” and called for Israeli sports teams to be banned from international competitions.
Protests in Barcelona filled the city’s central boulevard, Passeig de Gracia, where demonstrators waved Palestinian flags and carried signs reading “Stop the Genocide,” “Hands off the Flotilla,” and “Gaza Hurts Me.”
“How is it possible that we are witnessing a genocide happening live after what we experienced in the 1940s?” asked 63-year-old Maria Jesus Parra, who traveled an hour to join the march. “Now nobody can say they didn’t know what was happening.”
In Rome, thousands joined a rally organized by Palestinian groups, unions, and students, marching from Porta San Paolo to San Giovanni. Police said they expected tens of thousands to attend.
In London, police arrested at least 442 protesters during a rally supporting the banned group Palestine Action. Authorities had urged organizers to postpone the event following Thursday’s deadly attack at a Manchester synagogue, in which two people were killed and the attacker — a British man of Syrian descent — was shot dead by police.
Despite the appeals, organizers went ahead with the protest, which had been planned before the attack, to oppose the government’s recent decision to outlaw Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws.
Police claimed the protest diverted resources from heightened security operations around synagogues and mosques. Officers were seen carrying away seated demonstrators writing pro-Palestinian slogans on placards, as onlookers shouted “shame on you.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer called for restraint on Saturday, writing on X: “I urge anyone thinking about protesting this weekend to recognise and respect the grief of British Jews. This is a moment of mourning. It is not a time to stoke tension and cause further pain.”
Thousands also joined marches in Dublin to mark two years since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza and to demand sanctions against Israel. Local reports said 16 Irish citizens were among those detained by Israel after the flotilla raid.
In Athens, hundreds gathered for a smaller demonstration on Saturday, with police expecting larger rival protests on Sunday, including a pro-Israeli rally.
The latest wave of demonstrations follows Hamas’s statement that it has accepted some elements of a U.S.-proposed peace plan to end the two-year assault, which has killed more than 66,000 people and devastated the Gaza Strip.
Source: Al Jazeera
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