Anti-Israel rioters in Barcelona injured 20 Spanish police officers and vandalized local shops, claiming that they were complicit with Israel.
By Rachel Avraham
Eight people were arrested and 20 police officers injured in clashes between pro-Palestinian protesters and police in Barcelona, the Jerusalem Post reported. According to the report, demonstrators vandalized shops, which they claimed had links to Israel.
Tens of thousands took part in protests in Madrid and scores of other Spanish cities, as well as demonstrations in Rome and Lisbon, amid anger after the Israeli interception of the Global Sumud flotilla that had set sail from Barcelona, trying to break the blockade of the Palestinian territory, the Jerusalem Post added. The interception of the flotilla, which consisted of 40 vessels, took place over Yom Kippur.
In Barcelona, protesters smashed or spray-painted anti-Israel slogans on windows of stores and restaurants including coffee chain Starbucks, hamburger franchise Burger King and supermarket chain Carrefour, accusing them of complicity in Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip, Reuters reported.
In Italy, students occupied universities, including Milan’s Statale and Rome’s La Sapienza, and blocked access to Bologna’s university using car tyres, video footage showed, Reuters added. In Turin, hundreds of people blocked traffic on the city’s ring road, according to news agency reports. Italian unions have called for a general strike in support of the Gaza flotilla, with more than 100 marches or rallies expected across the country.
Nearly 500 people have been arrested in central London during protests in support of the proscribed group Palestine Action, the BBC reported. According to the report, the Organization Defend Our Juries said around 1,000 took part in demonstrations around Trafalgar Square backing Palestine Action – a group which was banned by the government in July, making it illegal to show any support or affiliation to them.
Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a video featuring Israeli police spokesman Dean Elsdunne walking in what he said was one of the largest vessels in the flotilla and showing that it was empty, Fox News reported. “When we and multiple other countries offered them to take this aid and bring it to the Gazans — we could facilitate its safe arrival — they flat out rejected it, and now we know why: because it was never about bringing aid to Gazans, but it was all about the headlines and the social media followings,” Elsdunne said in the video as he walked through the empty flotilla vessel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commended the interception and said the members of the Israeli Navy who carried it out did so in “the most professional and efficient manner.” He also said that their actions prevented the entry of dozens of vessels into a war zone. Out of the 49 Spaniards who were detained by Israeli forces on the flotilla, 21 will fly back to Spain from Tel Aviv today, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares tells local television station RTVE.
Some 137 activists detained by Israel for taking part in a flotilla to Gaza are being flown to Istanbul, Turkey’s foreign ministry said on Saturday, the Jerusalem Post reported. According to the report, the individuals include 36 Turkish nationals, as well as citizens from the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Morocco, Italy, Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia, Mauritania, Switzerland, Tunisia, and Jordan, ministry sources added. The Israeli Foreign Ministry added that there were also citizens from the United Kingdom and Bahrain. The rest are expected to be deported at a later phase.
Photo from Republic World: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsz5ONAUdeI
