Fifteen people were arrested, mostly minors, at the pro-Palestinian march in Barcelona, marked by riots and police charges.

BarcelonaCatalonia experienced a day of strikes this Wednesday, road and train blockades that complicated mobility for hours, and demonstrations in various cities to denounce the situation in Gaza. The strike called by minority unions and the two-hour walkouts per shift supported by the majority unions (CCOO and UGT) barely had any impact on the workplace. However, the day did have a strong response in the streets, with demonstrations in the morning and afternoon that in Barcelona together drew more than 22,000 people, according to data from the City Police.

The most attended demonstration was organized by Prou ​​Complicity with Israel and the Palestinian Community of Catalonia, which in the afternoon brought together 15,000 people. They set out from the Plaza Països Catalans, next to Sants station, where clashes erupted during the morning, leading to the closure of buildings. Fifteen people were arrested for rioting, eleven of whom were minors.

When the bulk of the protesters reached the Israeli Consulate, they found a building completely armored by the police, who had erected fences to protect it. Once again, groups of protesters moved containers to impede the movement of police vehicles and threw rockets and rocks. Officers again used batons, pepper spray, and some foam projectiles to disperse these actions. At least one of these bullets hit someone in the arm. Comuns (Communists) has announced that it will formally request that the Minister of the Interior, Núria Parlon, and the Director of the Police, Josep Lluís Trapero, appear before Parliament to explain the use of pepper spray. The charges injured several participants, and some colleagues rescued them by pouring water into their eyes to soothe the itching. The CUP (United Left) has also denounced the officers' use of irritant gas against the protesters, including CUP MP Xavier Pellicer.

In the morning, the hottest spot after the demonstration called by student unions was Sants station. Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) used batons to disperse the remaining protesters after the protest broke up, and a group of demonstrators attacked a fast-food restaurant, which hours later became the target of stones and flares during the afternoon demonstration. Riot police vans were activated and focused on arresting the youths who were trying to break into the station.

However, the protesters did manage to get down onto the tracks in Manresa. The action led to the closure of lines R4 (from San Vicente de Calders to Manresa) and RL4 (from Barcelona to Lleida via Manresa) for a couple of hours, and the activation of the Ferrocat emergency plan. On the streets of Barcelona, Spain, a demonstration also took place: hundreds of people unsuccessfully tried to prevent Hapoel Jerusalem players from reaching the Nou Congost stadium to play a basketball game against Maxi Manresa. The visiting delegation entered the arena amid chants of "boycott Israel," but this did not affect the competition. Protests also took place in other Catalan cities, such as Girona and Tarragona, where pro-Palestine and pro-Gaza slogans and anti-Benjamin Netanyahu slogans were heard.

Poor follow-up

The impact on the streets has not been reflected in the country's productive sectors. Electricity demand is a clear example of this. According to Red Eléctrica, the system operator, electricity demand in Spain this Wednesday remained in line with demand on Monday and Tuesday, and similar to that forecast for Thursday. Regarding the impact on businesses, it was limited to gatherings in some workplaces. According to the CCOO (Working Workers' Workers' Association), these strikes had been observed in around a thousand companies during the early morning shifts. The union's general secretary, Belén López, called for the partial strike to provide an "umbrella" for workers to show their solidarity with Palestine and condemnation of Israel, and encouraged citizens to attend the united demonstration this Wednesday afternoon in Barcelona. "Without the right to life, social and labor rights do not exist," López added. Camil Ros, general secretary of the UGT (Catalan Workers' Union), said the strike serves as a means for Catalan workers to show solidarity with the Palestinians, and that despite the ceasefire signed this week, the decision has been made to maintain the strike call to demand a "definitive and permanent ceasefire" and, subsequently, a "true and lasting peace."