By Senhan Bolelli
MADRID (AA) - More than 200 trade unions and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Spain on Friday initiated a 24-hour general strike titled “Against the genocide and occupation in Palestine.”
As part of the nationwide strike, demonstrations took place in the capital Madrid and other major cities such as Barcelona and Bilbao, with university students suspending classes in solidarity.
The unions and NGOs expressed that Israel's attacks on Gaza have become “intolerable,” urging the Spanish government to “immediately cut diplomatic, commercial, and military relations with Israel" to prevent its participation in "Israel's ethnic cleansing."
The unions organized various demonstrations throughout the day, including protests at factories that produce military equipment and in front of the Foreign Ministry headquarters in Madrid.
- ‘Biggest action’
Carmen Arnaiz, secretary of Social Activities at the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), which led the strike, stated, “We organized this action with the support of many NGOs to respond to the demands of Palestinian workers,” she told Anadolu. She emphasized that “the biggest action we can take as trade unions is a general strike,” calling the strike symbolic yet significant.
“The message we want to send to the Spanish government and the world is to cut all relations with Israel,” Arnaiz said, condemning Israel for its “total violation of international law and human rights” and labeling its actions as genocide.
Arnaiz further advocated for controlling arms exports to Israel and investing in health, education, and social services instead of weapons. She stressed the need for global demonstrations in support of Palestine.
“It is necessary to prevent the killing of civilians, including thousands of women and children, from entering a vicious circle as if it were normal.”
The secretary criticized bans on demonstrations supporting Palestine in several European countries, including Germany, France, the UK, Italy, and the US, describing them as “fascism.” She called such bans “scandalous,” citing a recent incident in Germany where a child was confronted for carrying a Palestinian flag.
“It is incomprehensible that Germany would track down a 10-year-old boy just because he was carrying the Palestinian flag and violently take it away.”
“Banning the right to protest and freedom of expression is a huge dilemma, especially for Europe, which claims to be a world leader in this regard,” she stated.
“I expect the civil society in Europe, which I think does not agree with such bans and violence, to react,” the official underlined.
“It is a terrible thing to ban a demonstration against genocide,” she added.
Flouting a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire, Israel has continued a brutal offensive on Gaza following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last October.
More than 41,500 people, most of them women and children, have since been killed and more than 96,000 injured, according to local health authorities.
The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.
Israel also faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.
*Writing by Merve Berker in Ankara