Tens of thousands march in Europe calling for Gaza ceasefire and aid delivery

Massive pro-Palestinian rallies swept across Europe on Saturday, demanding an end to the war in Gaza and the release of activists aboard a humanitarian flotilla intercepted by Israel earlier this week.

In Rome, organisers said hundreds of thousands participated for the fourth consecutive day. Police estimated around 70,000 protesters marched in Barcelona, part of a series of demonstrations across Spain. In Dublin, several thousand gathered to mark what organisers described as “two years of genocide” in Gaza.

Spain and Ireland have been among Europe’s most vocal critics of Israel’s military campaign, which followed Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israeli communities near Gaza. Meanwhile, Italy’s hard-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni faced criticism over her government’s handling of the Gaza siege.

Meloni condemned demonstrators in Rome for defacing a statue of Pope John Paul II near the main train station, calling it a “shameful act.”

“They claim to take to the streets for peace, but they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace,” she said in a statement.

Protesters in the Italian capital, including families with children, shouted, “We are all Palestinians”, “Free Palestine” and “Stop the genocide”, with many carrying Palestinian flags and wearing black-and-white chequered keffiyehs.

“Usually, I don’t appreciate large-scale demonstrations, but today, I couldn’t bring myself to stay home,” Donato Colucci, a 44-year-old scout leader accompanying 150 youths from a secular association, told AFP.

“I think countries like Italy, France, and Spain have developed a culture of resistance and democratic values more than others because they experienced dictatorship and violence.”

In Barcelona, Marta Carranza, a 65-year-old pensioner demonstrating with a Palestinian flag on her back, said Israel’s policy “has been wrong for many years and we have to take to the streets”.

Solidarity

The Global Sumud flotilla, which was intercepted on Wednesday, left Barcelona in early September and had been seeking to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza, where the United Nations says famine has taken hold.

Around 50 Spaniards on the flotilla have been detained by Israel, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told public television in an interview aired on Saturday.

The flotilla organisers say Israel’s actions were “illegal” since they intercepted the vessels while they were traversing international waters.

Jordi Bas, a 40-year-old primary school teacher waving a Palestinian flag, said the huge turn-out was “predictable”. “People are beginning to wake up a bit,” he said.

“It’s the only thing that can give them (Palestinians) a little encouragement, to see that the whole world is mobilising in solidarity with them,” he added.

On September 14, around 100,000 pro-Palestinian demonstrators forced the halt of the final stage of the Vuelta a Espana cycling race in the Spanish capital, where an Israeli team was competing.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Israel should be barred from international sport over the Gaza war, just as Russia was penalised over its invasion of Ukraine.

In September, Spain said it would ban imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, which have been described by UN rights chief Volker Turk as a war crime.

In Ireland, speakers called for sanctions on Israel and an immediate end to the conflict – and Palestinian involvement in the ceasefire plan.

“Any plan that’s made without the involvement of the leadership or the people involved has to be suspect,” said John-Paul Murphy, a 37-year-old medical doctor.

In London, police said they made at least 355 arrests at a gathering in support of the proscribed Palestine Action group. Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged against protests this weekend, after a deadly synagogue attack on Thursday.

With inputs from agencies