Spain’s political class clashed over chaotic pro-Palestinian protests in Madrid that brought the Vuelta to a premature end Sunday, with the opposition accusing the leftist government of permitting an “international embarrassment”.
And comments from Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez Sunday brought an angry response from Israel.
Demonstrators denouncing the participation of the Israel-Premier Tech team in one of cycling’s major races overwhelmed police and invaded the course in the Spanish capital, forcing organisers to cut short the final stage.
A spokesman for the central government representation in the Madrid region told AFP that 100,000 people had taken part in the pro-Palestinian protests, adding that two people had been arrested.
The unrest was the culmination of pro-Palestinian activism against Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza, with protests disrupting the three-week race on several occasions.
Even before the final day, the race organisers had had to shorten some stages and demonstrators had caused crashes after bursting onto the course.
Several members of the leftist government have publicly supported the movement in a country where support for the Palestinian cause is strong.
Sanchez made his first public comments on the row on Sunday, saying before the final stage that “Spain today shines as an example and as a source of pride”.
The country was “an example to an international community where it sees Spain taking a step forward in the defence of human rights”, he told a Socialist party gathering in the southern city of Malaga.
Israel was swift to denounce his comments.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called Sanchez and his government “a disgrace” to their country, accusing the Spanish premier of “encouraging the protesters to take to the streets” of Madrid through “his incitements”.
– ‘International embarrassment’ –
The right-wing opposition Popular Party (PP), which runs the Madrid region and the Spanish capital’s council, also reacted furiously.
Party leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo’s response on social media was scathing after the prestigious cycling event ended with police charging at protesters and firing tear gas.
“The government has allowed and induced the non-completion of the Vuelta and, in this way, an international embarrassment televised worldwide,” he said.
The PP head of the Madrid region, Isabel Diaz Ayuso, wrote on X that Sanchez “becomes directly responsible for any altercation that happens… what damage to our sport and our country!”
And the city’s mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida said: “What has happened today in Madrid is the fruit of hate and violence that have been irresponsibly encouraged in recent days by leaders from the left.”
At the other end of the political spectrum, far-left Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Diaz hailed Spanish society for “giving a lesson to the world”.
“Israel cannot compete in any event while it continues to commit a genocide,” she wrote on Instagram, days after the Israeli government barred her from entry for her criticism of the war in Gaza.
Israel-Premier Tech, owned by Israeli-Canadian property developer Sylvan Adams, is a private outfit and not a state team, but was hailed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for continuing to compete despite the vehement protests.
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