Protests Escalate Against Israel’s Involvement in Spain’s La Vuelta Cycling Race
(MENAFN) Protests against Israel’s involvement in Spain’s prestigious La Vuelta cycling race are escalating, with demonstrators targeting the Israel-Premier Tech team along the route. The three-week event, which runs from August 23 to September 14, has been met with almost daily anti-Israel rallies since entering Spain from Italy and France on August 27.
In the most recent protest in Belagua, Navarra, thousands of activists waved Palestinian flags, displayed “No to genocide” banners, and attempted to block the Israeli team’s cyclists. Israel-Premier Tech is owned by businessman Sylvan Adams, a close ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Spanish police intervened to maintain order, and security measures around the race have been ramped up in response to the unrest. On Wednesday, the event will pass through Bilbao in the Basque Country, where further protests are anticipated.
Spain’s Youth and Children’s Minister Sira Rego has called for the expulsion of the Israeli team from the race. She urged La Vuelta director Javier Guillen to allow protests to continue freely. “The real violence is not on the streets of our cities or on the banners of our young people; instead, it is in the daily tragedies being suffered by the Palestinian population under occupation and siege,” Rego wrote in a public letter shared on social media.
“Consider if the values of La Vuelta are compatible with the participation of a team linked to a state that violates international law, that is perpetuating a genocide and massacring a defenseless population,” she added.
Civil society groups in Spain have also launched campaigns calling for Israel’s exclusion from international sporting events while it faces accusations of committing war crimes and genocide in Gaza. Since October 2023, the Israeli military has continued its operation in the Gaza Strip, resulting in the deaths of over 63,600 Palestinians.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November 2023 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Israel is also facing a case at the International Court of Justice over alleged genocide in Gaza.
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