Protests in Barcelona against Israel's aggression in Gaza drew thousands of people

A rally in support of the Palestinian people and against Israeli bombing in the Gaza Strip was held on Barcelona's Avenida Grazia. According to the city police, about 19,000 people took part in the rally, while the organizers claim the number reached 70,000. The rally was organized in solidarity with the Palestinian people and against Israeli aggression, which began after an attack carried out by Hamas militants on October 7. Under the slogan "Stop Genocide in Palestine," the protesters expressed their discontent with the massive bombardment by the Israeli army and the blockade it is subjecting the Palestinian population to.

More than 200 organizations, including the trade unions CC OO, UGT and Ustec, the political parties Barcelona en Comú Podem and CUP, as well as social and local organizations, joined the march, which began at 6:00 p.m. in the Jardinets de Gracia Park and marched along Avenida Gracia to the intersection with Gran Via. In the morning, about a hundred people from various social organizations occupied a hotel in the Ciutat Vella neighborhood owned by an Israeli businessman and ended the protest after an hour.

Protesters chanted slogans such as "Boycott Israel", "Freedom, Freedom for Palestine", "The Zionist State is a terrorist state" and "Gaza, you are not alone" as they marched along Grazia Avenue to the intersection with Gran Via.

During the march, protesters approached the European Parliament building in Barcelona, located opposite the Pedrera building. The building was enclosed by a fence and guarded by five cars of the local police Mossos d'Esquadra. Protesters whistled and shouted at the institute, but no incidents occurred. Protesters also criticized Barcelona Mayor Jaume Colboni for restoring the city's relationship with Tel Aviv, cut off in the previous term. "Colboni, stop facilitating," they shouted.

The protest action this morning at the Hotel Cortes on Barcelona's Santa Anna Street (owned by Israeli tycoon Haim Zuff) angered part of the Jewish community in Barcelona, and the Israeli ambassador to Spain denounced it as an "inhumane and anti-Semitic act" on his X social network account (formerly Twitter). On the same social network, Barcelona Mayor Jaume Colboni reacted by saying that "the city's Muslim and Jewish communities are exemplary and promote dialog and coexistence." "We therefore condemn any act of violence or hostility towards people or property," he said, without making an explicit reference to the protest at the hotel, in which no intervention by the Mossos d'Esquadra police force or the city police was required, as the protesters left on their own.