Spanish cities protest in support of Palestine, major union calls for cease-fire

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - Protestors in cities across Spain took to the streets late Wednesday to show their support for the Palestinian people.

At the protest in Madrid’s central square, Spanish politician Ione Belarra called for an end to the genocide and to bring “those responsible for this barbarity to the International Criminal Court.”

The protest in the capital was organized under the slogan “No to the partition of Palestine” on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. Many of the hundreds of protestors held signs calling for a just peace.

Protestors in other cities like Barcelona, Oviedo and Valladolid took to the streets to call for a permanent cease-fire shortly before an agreement between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas for a humanitarian pause is set to expire.

One of the country’s main unions, the Workers' Commissions (CCOO), helped organize several protests, with its members standing up in support of the Palestinians and calling for an end to the violence.

On Tuesday night, Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Diaz met with the ambassador of Palestine to share her support.

“The Palestinian cause is the human cause,” she posted on the social media platform X.

Doctors in the Spanish chapter of Doctors Without Borders also issued a call for humanity in the Gaza Strip.

“The attacks on hospitals and the civilian population must stop now,” said one of the organization’s doctors in a video.