Palestine Solidarity Protests Continue To Grow Across Europe

Record crowds again filled streets across Europe, demanding an end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza and freedom for the Global Sumud Flotilla crew.

By Ana Vračar, Peoples Dispatch

Mass mobilizations in solidarity with Palestine continue to sweep across Europe, with October 4-5 once again bringing well over a million people to the streets in Spain, Italy, France, Romania, the Netherlands, and other countries. Demonstrations have steadily grown over the past two years, but gained even greater momentum after Israel attacked the Global Sumud Flotilla, whose passengers include many European workers and activists that sailed to break the illegal blockade of the Gaza Strip.

Protests in Spain and Italy were particularly impressive. In Madrid, half a million people marched through the city in what many described as the biggest demonstration of its kind so far, while Barcelona saw 300,000 join. Among the groups on the streets were local chapters of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) campaign, student organizations, and feminist collectives. This included the March 8 Initiative, which reiterated demands to end Israel’s assault on Gaza. “We demand the end of the genocide and freedom for the Palestinian people,” activists said. “There is no freedom while lives are under attack, solidarity is criminalized, and truth is silenced.”

Alongside calls to stop the genocide and free the imprisoned members of the Global Sumud Flotilla, the mobilization in Spain also addressed local topics. While Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government has been edging towards restricting trade and cooperation with the Israeli occupation, activists warned that such measures fall short of what is needed. Organizers urged continued pressure ahead of a royal decree validation by political parties scheduled for this week. The decree foresees further reductions in military transfers to Israel.

“The text of the royal decree is not enough and does not constitute a full embargo, but it’s a step that brings us closer to our objective: ending all trade and transit of military material to Israel,” BDS Madrid wrote after the protest. “International solidarity with Palestine is unstoppable, as the streets have shown once again this weekend […] Every day we are stronger, and we will not stop until this government enforces a full embargo on Israel.”

In Italy, the central demonstration in Rome on October 4 followed a hugely successful general strike that saw more than two million people block the country in solidarity with Palestine and the flotilla. A million of them joined the march in the capital on Saturday, signaling that pressure on Giorgia Meloni’s government is not fading. The left party Potere al Popolo emphasized that protesters were not only demanding an end to the genocide but also “contesting the policies of the Meloni administration, saying no to the criminal complicity of a government that continues to send arms to Israel.”

Italy’s general strike reverberated around the world, reminding many of the power of organized workers to bring countries to a standstill in the name of peace and solidarity. Both the strike and Saturday’s protest, Potere al Popolo noted, did not happen by chance. Instead, they are “the result of more than two years of work by pro-Palestine activists, grassroots unions, student groups, and political organizations.”

“On October 4, from Rome, our message resonated clearly: if Israel does not stop the genocide, if our governments do not end their complicity, and until Palestine is free, we will continue to block everything,” Potere al Popolo declared. A similar spirit of permanent mobilization echoes across the region, with new demonstrations already announced throughout October.