Former Barcelona mayor denounces 'degrading treatment' by Israel after flotilla interception

The former Barcelona mayor, Ada Colau, denounced on Sunday night that Israel had a "degrading treatment" of all Gaza aid flotilla activists. She said so after landing at Barcelona airport on Sunday night.

She said that "all rights were violated" and that they have been "badly treated, but nothing compared to what happens with Palestinians daily."

Colau, one of the flotilla activists who arrived in Barcelona after being deported by Israel on Sunday afternoon, said that they were "illegally kidnapped" by Israeli forces on international waters.

Meanwhile, Jordi Coronas, Barcelona councilor for the pro-independence Esquerra Republicana party, said that Israel represents the "anti-democracy" and said that it is a "fascist, corrupt, and genocidal" state.

"The priority is to stop this government," Coronas said in reference to Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet. He was also one of the captains of one of the vessels traveling from Barcelona to Gaza.

Speaking to media outlets at the Barcelona airport late Sunday night, Coronas and Colau said that it was essential to continue demonstrating to put an end to the "genocide" Palestinians are suffering, and for the return of those Gaza aid flotilla activists who were still imprisoned by Israel. Among the imprisoned, were Catalan parliament MP Pilar Castillejo, for the far-left pro-independence CUP party, and Adrià Plazas, member of CUP's managing board.

Gaza aid flotilla activists were aware that the interception by Israeli forces was a possibility, but their arrest in international waters was "completely illegal," and that they "kidnapped all our vessels and all of us," Colau said.

Colau and Coronas were members of the Global Sumud Flotilla that left Barcelona on August 31. After sailing for over a month, they were intercepted by Israeli forces on the night of Wednesday.

On Sunday, 21 of the 49 Spanish activists on the flotilla were deported from Tel Aviv to Madrid, where they landed in the afternoon. Hours later, around 10:50 pm, Colau and Coronas landed in Barcelona, where dozens of friends, political party members, and family members awaited them.

The other Catalans deported on Sunday rested in Madrid, instead of traveling to Barcelona as Colau and Coronas did.

The former mayor said that activists were humiliated by "hundreds of very aggressive police officers," who forced them to stand on their knees for hours, pressed their heads to the ground, and were shouted at with screams and insults. They were even stripped of their clothes.

Colau said that Israel did not immediately extradite activists, as in previous occasions, but moved them to a maximum security prison near Gaza.

"There was not a single rule; they were not only violating international law, but also their own rules," the former mayor, Ada Colau, told media outlets on Sunday night.

In the prison, several activists had to share small cells and spent hours without eating or drinking.

"There was no lawful procedure; all our rights were violated," Colau said.

Mass protests in Barcelona have called for their release, as well as a "boycott of Israel" and "end to the genocide in Gaza." After the flotilla was intercepted on Wednesday night, many demonstrated outside the Israeli consulate in the Catalan capital. On Thursday, there was a students demonstration followed by a 15,000 people rally in the evening.

Since then, there have been daily protests, including a campout at Drassanes Square.

That protest concluded on Sunday after a 200-person assembly agreed to focus their efforts toward the upcoming general strike on October 15, "to bring everything to a halt."

Organizers expressed satisfaction that they "disrupted the normal activity of the port, the city, and of the companies that profit from genocide."

President Illa expresses "satisfaction"

Catalan president, Salvador Illa, expressed his satisfaction at the return of the Global Sumud Flotilla activists.

"I want to express my satisfaction at their safe and healthy return, in good condition," Illa said on Monday during an event on housing.

He also reiterated the Catalan government's position on Gaza, calling for an "end to the genocide."

"The solution lies in a stable and lasting peace through the two-state solution," Illa stated.

'If we were Palestinians, they would have killed us'

One of the Catalans who had been imprisoned by Israel for taking part in the Gaza aid flotilla, Guillem Esteban, landed in Madrid on Sunday night. He said that the media focus should not be on the activists, but on those Palestinians who are still suffering.

"If we were Palestinians, [Israel] would have killed us," Esteban told media outlets at the Madrid airport.

"This has been a civil initiative to compensate the lack of initiative of the governments," Esteban said, before returning to Barcelona accompanied by his father and his sister.

Other activists

Spain's foreign affairs minister José Manuel Albares confirmed on Monday morning that the remaining 28 Spanish flotilla activists would return on Monday.

Albares spoke to Catalan radio station Catalunya Ràdio, where he said that they would do whatever it takes to get the activists there "as soon as possible."

However, he did not give any information on where they would land.

Asked about the "degrading treatment," Albares preferred to wait for all flotilla members to land in Spain before making any comments.

He said he did not like some of the details that activists had explained over the phone.

Meanwhile, the Catalan foreign affairs minister, Jaume Duch, said that they are doing "everything that is possible" so the rest of the flotilla members can return on Monday.

"Everyone is working so they can sleep at their houses at night," he said. 

CUP spokesperson Su Moreno said on Monday that Pilar Castillejo and Adrià Plazas will fly from Tel Aviv to Athens this afternoon before taking a connecting flight to Madrid.

"It is very likely that they will end up arriving in Barcelona tomorrow, where we will organize a proper welcome for them," she added in statements to the media.

Moreno also criticized the Socialists for giving "symbolic" support to Gaza during the day while "repressing" protesters at night.