By John Catalinotto
October 20, 2025

The people living in the Spanish state held a general strike Oct. 15 in solidarity with Palestine. Hundreds of thousands of people, including many secondary school students, filled the streets of more than 60 cities across the country.

The action was called and promoted by dozens of unions, social organizations and student groups under the slogan, “Stop everything to stop the genocide.” It denounced the role of the international community (meaning mainly the NATO countries, the European Union and especially the United States government) in the Israeli offensive against the Palestinian people of Gaza and demanded that the Spanish regime break diplomatic and commercial relations with Israel, in addition to suspending the shipment of weapons and military technology.

According to a report published Oct. 16 by the web sites lahaine.org  and kaosenlared.net, “From early in the morning, picket lines and columns of workers blocked access to industrial estates, universities, and logistics hubs.” The demonstrators cut off a major ring road in Barcelona, in the Catalonia region. In Valencia, protests centered around the Roig Arena, where a basketball game was scheduled against a Tel Aviv team.

Anti-people police in the Catalonia region used rubber-coated bullets and extendable batons against the protesters, injuring and arresting some in both cities.

In Madrid, thousands of people marched through the city center to Plaza de España, where rank-and-file unions and student platforms held a public assembly. A union spokesperson said to applause, “There can be no normality while genocide continues.”

In Bilbao, in the Basque Country, people rallied at the Puente del Arenal bridge and the City Hall, where a banner was unfurled with the slogan: “Basque Country with Palestine, permanent ceasefire.”

The political solidarity strikes partially stopped work throughout the country. The strike was all the more impressive as it occurred after the ceasefire in Gaza had been announced. According to the Oct. 16 report cited, “Although police repression and biased media coverage attempted to minimize its impact, the general strike for Palestine has set a historic precedent of internationalist solidarity in Spain.”