Some 100,000 people in Madrid demand an end to the "genocide" and a complete break with Israel.

Around 100,000 people, according to estimates from the Government Delegation in Madrid, flooded the center of the capital this Saturday to demand an end to the "genocide" in Palestine, a break with the State of Israel in all areas of relations, especially in the arms trade, and to harshly criticize any "complicity" in the situation in Gaza.

The demonstration began around 6:00 PM toward the intersection of Paseo del Prado and Atocha and ended at 9:00 PM in Callao Square without any serious incidents. The turnout was overwhelming. Upon arrival at the outskirts of Callao, the organizers announced that the finish line was still on Paseo del Prado.

Several women wearing Palestinian hijabs and headscarves led the protest, using megaphones and loudspeakers to chant slogans ranging from "boycott Israel," "stolen lands will be recovered," and "Palestine will triumph from the river to the sea."

These chants spread throughout the march and joined the protests against the president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, and the mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, for denying the existence of a "genocide." "Ayuso, Almeida, go to hell," the protesters rebuked as they passed through Cibeles, the headquarters of Madrid City Hall.

Among the attendees were young people and families.

Along those lines, the Madrid Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) accused Almeida this afternoon of "turning off" the city's urban cameras to "hide" the massive turnout at the demonstration. Among the attendees were all kinds of profiles, particularly young people, but also people of Arab origin and parents with their children. "They need to see that in the face of something like this, you can never stand still and understand what happens to children like them in Gaza," explained a father with his five-year-old son.

Each of the organizations that joined the protest, including political parties, platforms, and associations, carried their own banner. However, the one leading the march read "Stop the genocide in Gaza, long live the struggle of the Palestinian people."

The banners were also joined by other elements, such as a large inflatable in the shape of a nuclear bomb demanding an end to the arms trade and posters with various slogans. One of them compared the Star of David to the Nazi swastika. All this was amid constant chants calling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a "son of a bitch" and "murderer" and denying the legitimacy of the State of Israel. "It's not a country, it's an occupation."

The Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, although not generally insulted, was one of those singled out by the protesters. "We want to ask Pedro Sánchez how many children must be killed to end criminal Zionism." As the march made its way up Gran Vía, the protesters also criticized the complicity in the "genocide" of large companies such as Zara, McDonald's, and Burger King, all based on the central avenue. "Israel kills, Zara sponsors."

Another focus of the proclamations was the Spanish members of the freedom flotilla who are being held in Israel, and citizens showed their support and admiration for opening a "humanitarian corridor" in Gaza across the Mediterranean.

At the end of the march, people called for an end to the genocide and the entry of humanitarian aid.

The organization's main demands were expressed at the end of the protest with the reading of a manifesto near Callao Square. The spokespersons demanded sanctions, including "an immediate halt to the genocide; the immediate and unrestricted entry of humanitarian aid; a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel, including sales, purchases, and transit; the complete severance of political, institutional, economic, sports, scientific, cultural, and military relations with the genocidal Zionist regime"; and "full support for international trials against Israel and the judicial prosecution of all those implicated in war crimes and crimes against humanity."

To this they added unequivocal support for the Palestinian people's resistance and their "legitimate right to self-defense against occupation, colonization, apartheid, ethnic cleansing, and genocide, recognized in international law; the release of Palestinian political prisoners; an end to the complicity of governments and corporations; and the immediate suspension of the EU-Israel Preferential Association Agreement."

Finally, they called for the implementation of UN General Assembly Resolution 194, which "recognizes the right of return of Palestinian refugees to their homes in historic Palestine, as well as an end to the persecution and criminalization of solidarity with Palestine, repealing the Gag Rule."

Read also "Stop the genocide in Palestine": Thousands demonstrate in central Barcelona for Gaza Mayka Navarro

The protest also featured a strong political presence, including the Minister of Health, Mónica García, and the Minister of Youth and Children, Sira Rego. Also in attendance were left-wing political leaders such as Sumar MP Lara Hernández; Más Madrid spokesperson in the Assembly, Manuela Bergerot; and Podemos leaders Ione Belarra and Irene Montero.

Tension between protesters and police in the Callao area

Hundreds of protesters remain around Madrid's Plaza de Callao an hour after the end of the demonstration that crisscrossed the center of the capital for peace in Gaza, which is generating some tension with the police due to their refusal to disperse and go home. A human chain of people attempted to advance beyond the planned route and continue the protest along Gran Vía towards Plaza de España, but National Police officers with 12 vans blocked the street. Faced with pressure from some of the protesters, determined to head towards the police, some of the organizers asked them to stop their attempts so that the mobilization called for today in Madrid would end without incident or violence. The National Police remained calm and did not need to intervene or even make any attempt to charge, although they prepared their extendable bumpers and lowered the visors of their helmets to be prepared. However, the protesters ended up sitting on the ground, occupying the entire street and demonstrating that they do not intend to leave for now. Most of them wore Palestinian headscarves, and several dozen began to cover their faces. One of the people carrying a megaphone to address the protest prompted his colleagues to observe a minute of silence with their hands raised for his family in Gaza.

Up to 17 demonstrations across Spain

The capital's protest was just one of several mobilizations called for this Saturday across Spain in places such as Andalusia, Castile and León, Catalonia, Murcia, La Rioja, the Valencian Community and Cantabria, with around 17 demonstrations in these regions, demanding an end to the arms trade and relations with Israel to end the genocide in Gaza. The largest, after Madrid, was in Barcelona, ​​where some 70,000 people according to Barcelona City Council and 300,000 according to the organizers (Prou Complicitat amb Israel) demonstrated this Saturday in support of Gaza and for an end to the arms trade and relations with Israel. These protests come just three days before the second anniversary of the Hamas terrorist attack against Israel on October 7, 2023. Since then, according to data from the authorities in the Gaza Strip, more than 66,000 Palestinians have died as a result of the offensive launched by the Army. Israeli. In addition, they take place within the framework of the arrest of the members of the Global Sumud Flotilla, made up of 40 vessels that were detained by the Israeli Navy last Wednesday when they crossed the maritime exclusion zone off the Gaza Strip. The associations of the campaign to end the arms trade with Israel have demanded in statements to the media during the protest that the right of the Palestinian people to choose their future be guaranteed, arguing that one cannot speak “of one, two, or three States” without first “decolonizing” Palestine. The spokesperson for Madrid with Palestine, Ibrahim Zaytouni, has maintained that “it makes no sense” for international leaders to talk about the future of Palestine because “the right to self-determination belongs to the Palestinians themselves.” Likewise, Zaytouni has positively valued the restart of negotiations between the parties because until now Israel “had systematically blocked” each attempt, although he has regretted that “stopping the genocide” or famine are not matters up for debate or not negotiable either.