Madrid, (EFE).- A group of 21 Spanish activists of the Global Flotilla Sumud landed on Sunday in Madrid, along with several colleagues from the Netherlands and Portugal, after being detained by Israel when they tried to reach the Gaza Strip by sea.
Wearing white T-shirts and raising their fists in victory, most of the group was greeted at the terminal by family, friends, and political representatives amid Palestinian flags and shouts in support of the flotilla.
The first group included former Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau and ERC councilman Jordi Coronas, who took another flight to Barcelona.
The undersecretary and general director of consular affairs from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs went to the airport to greet the activists as they disembarked.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs continues to work for the prompt return to Spain of the rest of the Spaniards,” diplomatic sources stressed.
The welcoming committee included the Minister of Health, Mónica García, and leaders of Podemos and Izquierda Unida.
García, who traveled to Barajas with a medical team in case any of the activists needed assistance, thanked them for their efforts and denounced their “illegal kidnapping” by Israel.
She also highlighted the work of the government, specifically the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the consulate in Tel Aviv, in assisting the activists. She guaranteed that they will continue to do everything in their power to protect those still detained and “stop the genocide.”
Podemos leader Ione Belarra once again demanded that the government break off relations with Israel. “The government is taking its time taking the steps that Spanish society is demanding,” she stressed, recalling the demonstrations this weekend.
In the Israeli prison of Saharonim, in the Negev desert, 28 Spaniards are still detained along with activists of several nationalities who refused to sign a document acknowledging that their entry into the country was illegal.
Three members of Podemos -Lucía Muñoz, Serigne Mbayé, and Alejandra Martínez- are still detained in that country and have begun a hunger strike to denounce “the brutal genocide” that is being committed in Gaza, Belarra pointed out.
The president of the CUP group in the Parliament of Catalonia, Pilar Castillejo, and Adrià Plazas, a member of the party’s leadership, are also still in prison in Israel, according to the party’s statement. EFE
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