In the last few hours, the Spanish activists arrived in Madrid along with colleagues from Portugal and the Netherlands. Some, such as the former mayor of Barcelona, continued on to the Catalan capital.
Twenty-eight Spaniards remained in the Israeli prison of Saharonim, in the Negev Desert, along with activists of other nationalities. All of them refused to sign a document acknowledging that their entry into the country was illegal. They also refused to accept voluntary deportation.
Ione Belarra, leader of the Podemos party, was highly critical of Benjamin Netanyahu’s regime and demanded that the government sever relations with Israel.
Lucia Munoz, Serigne Mbaye, and Alejandra Martinez, members of Podemos and crew members on the flotilla, remain detained by Israel and have announced the start of a hunger strike to denounce “the brutal genocide being committed in Gaza,” reported Belarra.
Among the Spaniards held captive by Israel are Pilar Castillejo, president of the CUP group in the Catalan Parliament, and Adria Plazas, a member of the party’s leadership.
A student sit-in at the Complutense University, a sit-in in Barcelona, and numerous rallies in the Basque Country were added to marches in Madrid in support of the Palestinian people in recent days.
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