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More than 40 Spaniards, including a former Barcelona mayor, are among the 450 activists that Israel detained from the flotilla\u2019s boats this week.<\/p>\n
Italy already saw more than two million people rally on Friday across the country in a one-day general strike to support the people of Gaza.<\/p>\n
Spain has seen a surge of support for Palestinians in recent weeks while its government intensifies diplomatic efforts against the far-right government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.<\/p>\n
Protests against the presence of an Israeli-owned cycling team repeatedly disrupted the Spanish Vuelta cycling event last month, while Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called the war on Gaza a \u201cgenocide\u201d and asked for the ban of all Israeli teams from international sporting events.<\/p>\n
![\"ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS\/SPAIN-PROTEST\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-04T124906Z_1991058148_RC205HAPWP2D_RTRMADP_3_ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-SPAIN-PROTEST-1759588238.jp.jpeg\")
People attend a pro-Palestinian protest, and to condemn the Israeli forces\u2019 interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla vessels which were aiming to reach Gaza and break Israel\u2019s naval blockade, in Barcelona, Spain [Lorena Sopena\/Reuters]<\/p>\n
The calls for protests in Europe come as Hamas said it has accepted some elements of the plan laid out by United States President Donald Trump to end the two-year assault, which has killed more than 66,000 people and left Gaza in ruins.<\/p>\n
Barcelona\u2019s town hall said police estimated that 70,000 turned out for Saturday\u2019s demonstration.<\/p>\n
People packed Barcelona\u2019s wide Passeig de Gracia, the city\u2019s central boulevard. Many families turned out, along with people of all ages. Protesters carried Palestinian flags or wore T-shirts supporting Palestine.<\/p>\n
Hand-held signs bore messages like \u201cGaza hurts me,\u201d \u201cStop the Genocide,\u201d and \u201cHands off the flotilla\u201d.<\/p>\n
Maria Jesus Parra, 63, carried a Palestinian flag high after making an hourlong trip from her home in another town to Barcelona. She wants the European Union to act against what she described as the horrors she watches on televised news on a daily basis.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow is it possible that we are witnessing a genocide happening live after what we [as Europe] experienced in the 1940s?\u201d Parra said. \u201cNow nobody can say they didn\u2019t know what was happening.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arrests in London<\/p>\n
A protest in Rome is also under way, organised by three Palestinian organisations along with local unions and students. The protesters will march from Porta San Paolo and end at San Giovanni. Police expect tens of thousands to attend, state broadcaster Rai reported.<\/p>\n
A protest in London in support of the prosribed group Palestine Action is also under way, despite police requesting a postponement following a deadly attack at a synagogue<\/a> in Manchester earlier this week.<\/p>\n Two people were killed in the attack in the northwestern city on Thursday, and police shot dead the attacker, a British man of Syrian descent.<\/p>\n Police have arrested at least 175 people at the scene of Saturday\u2019s main protest event in Trafalgar Square in central London.<\/p>\n Officers began carrying away protesters as seated activists wrote out slogans on placards declaring their support for Palestine Action. Onlookers chanted \u201cshame on you\u201d at the police.<\/p>\n