Protests erupted in Barcelona after Israel intercepted the Gaza-bound flotilla, which also led Spain to summon Israel's chargé d'affaires, Dana Erlich, in response to the detentions.
Spain’s Foreign Ministry summoned Israel’s chargé d'affaires Dana Erlich following Israel’s seizure of the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla, El Pais reported on Friday morning, citing diplomatic sources.
A total of 175 activists were detained by the IDF on Wednesday, 31 of whom are Spanish citizens, according to El Pais. The flotilla set sail from Barcelona in mid-April.
The outlet added that Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares remains in contact with the flotilla’s organizers and the foreign ministers of countries with citizens aboard the ships.
Albares had previously condemned Israel's actions towards the flotilla in a Thursday joint statement alongside the foreign ministers of Turkey, Brazil, Jordan, Pakistan, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Colombia, Maldives, South Africa, and Libya.
Also following the flotilla’s seizure, protests erupted outside of Israel’s Consulate in Barcelona late Thursday night, according to footage circulating on social media.
Some 400 people participated in the protest, which started as a coordinated march in support of the detained flotilla activists, starting Plaça de Sants and heading towards the consulate.
According to Barcelona daily newspaper El Periódico, protesters shouted slogans such as “Boycott Israel,” “Israel is not a country, it is an occupation,” “Flotilla, you are not alone,” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free."
Masked protesters overturned 10 garbage cans and threw bottles, fireworks, and smoke bombs at the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) deployed at the scene.
Footage circulating on social media shows police eventually charging the protesters with riot shields and batons.
Call for EU to condemn, distance itself from Israel
Ahead of the march, Pablo Castilla, spokesperson for the Global Sumud Flotilla in Catalonia, accused the European Union of being “complicit with Israel in the offensive against Iran and Lebanon,” El Periódico reported.
Further, he condemned Spain for its hypocrisy regarding Israel while demanding the release of the activists "kidnapped by Israel,” calling on the EU to condemn the seizure of the flotilla and sever ties with the country.
"Let them break with these empty words that only conceal complicity and implement a genuine arms embargo and break all relations," El Periódico quoted him as saying, affirming that they “will not be the generation that witnesses the genocide of the Palestinian people.”
