Thousands of people demonstrated this Sunday afternoon between Atocha Street and Puerta del Sol to show their support for the Palestinian cause in the conflict with Israel, which has worsened in recent weeks due to the Hamas terrorist attack.. And the leaders of Sumar have been at the forefront of these marches, especially from Más Madrid, with Enrique Santiago, Íñigo Errejón and Mónica García at the head, and those of Podemos, with Ione Belarra and Isa Serra.
The march was called by different pro-Palestinian organizations of different ideological types despite the representation of leaders of the Madrid left.. Among them, the most controversial is Samidoun (Solidarity Network with Palestinian Political Prisoners), which is in the crosshairs of illegalization in Germany due to its ties with Hamas, according to the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, in the German parliament. last October 14.
The general tone of the public representatives present was clearly one of rejection towards the policy of Netanyahu's Israeli Government, but in the case of Podemos also against that of Pedro Sánchez's Executive.. “We ask Sánchez to stop showing complicity with the Netanyahu Government, we must take him before the International Criminal Court, as the Government of Spain, for war crimes against the civilian population in Gaza and we must also tell the EU to stop be an accomplice,” said Isa Serra, spokesperson for the purples, closely watched by Minister Belarra, who did not make public statements.
Also the national deputy of Sumar and member of Más País, Íñigo Errejón, explored this line of condemnation towards Israel, ensuring that “siding on the side of peace and Human Rights is not going to take a photo with those who are bombing Gaza or threatening to a genocide” “It means standing on the side of a negotiated solution, the immediate ceasefire, the end of the bombings and the end of the apartheid occupation of Palestine by the State of Israel,” said the parliamentarian, who described it as ” “recognition of the Palestinian State is essential”. “The Spanish government has to rise to the occasion, humanitarian aid is not enough, an end to the bombings is essential,” he concluded.
“We have gathered here to say no in our name to a genocide planned by Netanyahu and yes to solidarity with the civilian population of Palestine. Madrid has always been characterized by being unquestionably on the side of peace and here there is only one side, which is that of Human Rights,” added Mónica García. The regional spokesperson for Más Madrid also stressed that the International Law that operates “cannot be an eye for an eye”. And he pointed to La Moncloa: “We ask the Government of Spain to give a forceful response against the barbarism in the face of the shameful photos of Von Der Leyen, in the face of the hypocritical silence of the Spanish right.”
The demonstration, which so far has passed without incident, has displayed a large number of flags – some of them contradictory to each other – such as Moroccan, Sahrawi, Palestinian, LGBT, Soviet, Second Spanish Republic, pro-abertzale nationalist group, Castilian Left and even Algeria. Among the most chanted songs, some have been sung such as “Israel is not a country, it is an occupation”, “Long live the struggle of the Palestinian people”, “Palestine will win”, “It is not a war, it is a genocide” or “Zionism It's Nazism.”