Students go on strike and rally for second consecutive day after Israel intercepts Gaza flotilla

Students from Catalonia took to the streets on Friday, for the consecutive day, to denounce the interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla by the Israeli army.

The protest started at 1 pm, one hour after it was scheduled to begin at noon at Universitat Square, following Thursday's protest with 6,500 students.

Thousands of protesters marched to Plaça de les Drassanes (also known as Plaça de la Carbonera), where an indefinite campout in solidarity with Palestine is taking place. 

At the makeshift campsite, made up of around 25 tents, additional stands provided food for those taking part in the demonstration.

Several other information tents were also set up, including a welcome point, a logistics tent, a first aid station, and a punt lila – a space offering support to victims of gender-based and LGBTQ+ violence.

Another stand explained why Plaça de les Drassanes was chosen as the site for the camp, highlighting business ties between the Port of Barcelona and Israel.

Second day of student protests

Students walked from several schools and universities to Universitat Square after blocking access to universities across Catalonia.

Students will "remain at the front line to stop everything and to talk about Palestine," Tània Ros, spokesperson for the Sindicat d'Estudiants dels Països Catalans, a group of students from Catalan-language speaking territories.

On Thursday, many demonstrators chanted against international businesses such as Burger King, Starbucks, or Carrefour. On Friday, protesters spray-painted one of the McDonald's on route to the Plaça de les Drassanes.

Students at the Autonomous University of Barcelona in Cerdanyola del Vallès blocked access to the university campus and the entrance of the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC) rail network from early in the morning.

Organizers said that around 150 people spent the night preparing for the rally, taking place around 36 hours after the Gaza humanitarian aid flotilla was stopped by the Israeli army.

"A mark or a timetable cannot be more important than stopping a genocide," protesters said.

In Barcelona, around 50 people blocked access to the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) industrial engineering building (ETSEIB). Many students spent the night in the building. In the morning, they used tables and chairs to block access to the building.

Their main goal, as Lia Casadevall, one of the group's spokespersons, explained, is to urge public universities to sever all ties with Israel.”

Casadevall said that they tried to look for a "peaceful solution" with the university management team to call off classes, but they did not reach any consensus.

"The main goal is for students to understand why they cannot go to classes." she said. The idea is to return to classes on Monday, but with the goal of keeping the requirement to cut ties with Israel.

Meanwhile, outside the university, there were dozens of students who wanted to attend their courses, such as Carla, who is studying a master's at ETSEIB and also works at the faculty.

"I was aware that there was a strike, but I did not expect for them to block our entrance," Carla told ACN.

Iván Perdíguero, a first-year industrial engineering student, said that he supports Palestine, but that blocking access to universities is not "the way" to help Gaza or urge governments to take action.

Pedro López was "very angry," saying he "had his own right to study."

"Most of the students are in favor of Palestine, but I do not see any link between protesting and me not being able to attend classes," he said.

Indefinite campout

Around 50 people camped out in Barcelona's Drassanes square overnight from Thursday to Friday, to protest against the interception the previous day of the Global Sumud Flotilla, sailing with humanitarian aid addressed to Gaza.

Demonstrators are located between the World Trade Center and Paral·lel Avenue, where a protest with 15,000 people occurred on Thursday afternoon. During the night, there were around 20 tents set for protesters to sleep.

Judit Piñol, one of the spokespersons of the Flotilla support movement in Barcelona, told the Catalan News Agency (ACN) that they had a "very peaceful" sleep and highlighted the support platform's "solidarity." The campout was set up using materials brought by people.

Piñol said that this is "an indefinite campout" until the "commercial ties with the government of Israel are really, effectively, and immediately cut." She added that Spain continues to be the "number one partner" of Israel and said that another way of putting an end to the campout is for Israel to open a humanitarian corridor to Gaza.

"We will leave the day the governments start doing their jobs. It is as easy as that," Piñol told ACN.

One of the other activists who spent the night at the campout, Tiziano Picardo, said that they are "a lighthouse, and plan to remain there until their voices are heard."

Picardo said that the campout occurred to "break the normal use" of public space. Demonstrators prepared the area to welcome two rallies, the student protest starting at midday, and a second one taking place at 6:30 pm.

The campout was set up at Drassanes square, where 15,000 people demonstrated on Thursday. Organizers chose that meeting point to "show the financial complicity between the Catalan and the Zionist governments," Judit Piñol said.

At Thursday's demonstration, Mossos d'Esquadra police arrested two people for public disorder, causing damage, and having inflammable material. During the rally, 14 police officers were injured, mainly with minor injuries.

Another demonstrator, Inés, from Santa coloma de Queralt, a central town of Catalonia, said that she has a "feeling of impotence, of anger, and of sadness. The very minimum we could do from our privileged position is to raise our voices for those who cannot."