Widespread calls for protest and boycott have rented the air across Spain in the wake of arms sales by the country to Israel. Demonstrations in cities including Barcelona, Valencia, Cartagena, and Madrid demanded that the government stop all arms trade with said country. The protests were held under the banner of the Solidarity Network Against the Occupation of Palestine and other pro-Palestinian organizations to end the flow of weapons that fuel the ongoing genocide against Palestine.
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In Madrid, the demonstrators gathered in front of the US Embassy and eventually marched to the Defense Ministry holding Palestinian flags. They shouted slogans like “Stop the Genocide in Palestine,” “Boycott Israel,” “They were hospitals, not military bases,” and “Sanctions against Israel aren’t in sight.” They called on the ruling leftist coalition government to cut ties with Israel, which they accuse of genocide and which is currently on trial at the International Court of Justice.
Isabel Serra Sanchez, a spokesperson for the Podemos party, and a member of the European Parliament accused the Spanish government of lying regarding the arms sales to Israel. The assertions by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares, and Defense Minister Margarita Robles that no ships carrying arms to Israel are allowed to stop in Spanish ports have been questioned by Serra Sanchez, who claims that arms still pass through ports like Valencia, Barcelona, and Algeciras.