Thousands rally in Barcelona after Gaza aid flotilla intercepted

Over 2,000 pro-Palestine demonstrators gathered in Barcelona on Friday evening to protest against the interception of the Gaza humanitarian flotilla and call for governments and institutions to break ties with Israel.

The march set off from Urquinaona Square shortly after the scheduled start time of 6:30pm and ended at Drassanes Square, where a makeshift camp was set up on Thursday night.

A moment of tension arose near Drassanes between and protesters and police, who sprayed some demonstrators with peppers spray after objects were thrown at the police line.

'Boycott Israel'

Led by two banners reading 'Let's break ties with Israel' and 'Boycott Israel,' the rally moved down Via Laietana, with organizers claiming that "many businesses on the street are complicit in Israel's crimes."

Some protesters threw paint bombs at a Carrefour store, while a Burger King outlet along the route was shut, after fast food restaurants were targeted by protests earlier in the day.

On the same street, a Deutsche Bank branch was vandalised. A tourist was seen wiping red paint off her leg and foot after the bank was hit with paint.

Protesters carried signs with slogans such as 'Never again is now' and 'Free Palestine,' while others displayed photographs of children injured and mutilated in Gaza."

At the march's conclusion near Plaça de Drassanes, Mossos d’Esquadra riot police sprayed pepper spray into the crowd, causing protesters to scatter, with some visibly in discomfort.

As on Thursday night, police blocked demonstrators from accessing the Ronda Litoral ring road.

"Wake up"

Ahead of the march, Anna, a student, told Catalan News that she came to the protest because she was "we're seeing a genocide and people are looking the other way."

She said she was "completely against" the EU's lack of "direct action to protect the Palestinian people from the attacks by Israel."

Another protester who declined to give his name said he was "here to show support for the Global Sumud Flotilla."

"We're trying to get people to wake up and for governments to take action," the man said, calling Israel a "terrorist state."

Alberto, from Barcelona, said he believed "the state of Israel is infringing certain rules of  human decency and aspects of international law."

Referring to the flotilla, he said: "Kidnapping civilians from other nations in international waters oversteps a mark and we want to put pressure on our government to do something about it." 

Several protests

The rally follows several other protests seen across the Catalan capital and Catalonia following Wednesday's events. Earlier on Friday, thousands of students marched from Universitat Square to Drassanes Square, chanting anti-Israeli and pro-Palestine slogans.

Friday evening's protest takes place 24 hours after 15,000 people gathered at Drassanes Square until late at night. Police blocked access to the Ronda Litoral highway and cruise ship terminals.

There was some tension between protesters and Mossos d'Esquadra police.

Dozens of people spent the night at Drassanes Square. They quickly coordinated a makeshift campout with the idea of camping until the Spanish government cuts commercial ties with Israel, or until Israel opens a humanitarian corridor into Gaza.

The campout organizers have also said that they are willing to stay until October 15, which coincides with a general strike.

Around midday on Thursday around 6,500 students had already rallied across Barcelona, and the Catalan parliament suspended its session after the government accused Israel of violating international law.

Long before the flotilla was intercepted, the Palestine community in Catalonia had already organized a demonstration for Saturday at noon at Barcelona's Jardinets de Gràcia. The rally plans to be the "largest demonstration in favor of Palestine in Barcelona's history" and urges governments to stop the arms trade and cut all ties with Israel.