Barcelona, Spain (AP) – As an al-Friend in northwestern Spain, Rosana Prieto tends to run her small village and is far from the main cities, often stunning by protests on geopolitical issues. But as the world’s largest cycling race draws people’s opinions in the nearby pastoral hills, she and hundreds of like-minded towns feel the opportunity to hear themselves, condemning Israel’s military movement in Gaza.
The Palestine flags held the flag and happened to stand where they knew the TV cameras were playing information to the world: the last lap in front of the finish line of Stage 15, and the cyclists in Vuelta, Spain were boasting about the past. On the road, a protester carrying the Palestinian flag was too close to the speeding channel and caused a pair of cyclists to crash.
Protests against Israel-owned teams have repeatedly captured the spotlight of the Spanish version of Vuelta, in which more than 180 cyclists pedaled 3,100 kilometers (1,900 miles) through the lethargic Spanish countryside. Five people were shortened or interrupted during the last 10 days of the car, and more than 20 were detained by police.
Israel’s 23-month military has been trapped in Palestinian territory, which has been in response to Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, has angered many Spaniards, including its outspoken left-wing government. Amid the protests watched by Vuelta, the protests won tacit recognition from the government and prompted it to promote one of the strongest positions on any European country against Israel since the ongoing military action began.
“The protests are born from our only opportunity to defend human rights,” Prieto, 48, told the Associated Press over the phone. “It’s an international focus for us to say we’re against what Israel is doing.”
Israel defended military operations in Gaza and accused Spain of standing with Hamas.
According to the region’s health ministry, the war has killed at least 64,803 people in the Gaza Strip so far as the famine has captured its largest city.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez endorsed Ireland and Norway last year and a Palestinian state, Spain became the first European country to demand that the UN court allow it to join the South African case, accusing Israel of genocide.
Vuelta protesters believe that if the Russian team is banned from international sporting events due to the war in Ukraine, the Israeli team should also be punished.
The Spanish government agreed.
Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said he would support the Israeli-owned team’s expulsion campaign, while government spokesman Pilar Alegría, who is also the Minister of Sports and Education, said it is no longer possible to be neutral in the face of death and destruction in Gaza.
On September 11, Alegría told Cadena Ser Radio: “I think it’s logical what we’re seeing in the protests.
For the security details of Vuelta, it is logically impossible to lock the entire route through its twisted roads, most of which are forest-lined. Large groups gathered in town and protesters jumped out of cover to stop the rider’s road, causing two athletes to crash, although it is unclear whether this was the protesters’ intention. None of the riders who crashed were in the Israeli ranks. The cyclists who participated in the race voted Wednesday to quit if their safety is threatened again.
Israel’s premier tech team (with Israeli riders at Vuelta, an Israeli rider) issued a statement saying it was impossible to exit the race because it would “set dangerous precedents.”
But Israel’s second-rate technology has been trying to keep a low profile. Riders avoid speaking in the media, which is a step to remove their team name from their riding uniforms.
The team is owned by Israeli Canadian businessman Sylvan Adams, who moved to Israel in 2016 and played a key role in promoting Israel through sports. He helped arrange the start of the third Grand Tour race in Israel’s 2018 cycling.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted on social media platform X on September 5, “It is excellent for both Sylvan and Israel’s cycling teams to do not succumb to hatred and intimidation.
There is an occasional confrontation between police, security personnel and protesters. Prito said she needed to undergo abrasion and knock on the door medication after police dragged her to the ground. She said she and her accomplices were acting calm and were waiting for her to face charges.
The cycling team condemned the actions of some protesters. Joxean Fernández Matxin, the team owner of the UAE team, said some of them hit the riders with flagpoles and threw tacks on their roads.
“Everyone has the right to protest, but it’s a shame that this has to happen in this way and we can’t finish the game,” Jonas Vingegaard, the head of the competition who won the French Tour, said after shortening on Wednesday’s stage.
In the dominant tour champion Tadejpogačar skipped Vuelta. However, Cycling’s biggest star fears the protests could spread to other games.
“I think all riders are a little scared of what could happen,” Pogačar told a reporter in Quebec on Thursday. “When we see what’s going on in Vuelta, we talk about it, and we think it could happen here or here or after the season is over or some other race.”
The next day, Pogačar participated in the one-day competition and dozens of protesters gathered in Quebec, Canada.
When protests undermined Vuelta, an activist fleet filled with humanitarian aid set sail from Barcelona with the aim of breaking Israel’s naval blockade on the Gaza Strip.
The Spanish Prime Minister chose this week to denounce Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocide” and declared an arms embargo at a nationally televised address and prevented fuel Israel encountered from passing through Spanish ports.
The move sparked a diplomatic dispute that led to a ban on ministers from both countries. Israeli leaders called the Spanish government’s actions “anti-Semitism” and “blatant genocide threat.”
If the protests gain strength, they could become the focus of Israel, which has long been proud of its close ties with the EU. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for a partial suspension of trade relations with Israel this week, and the Netherlands said it would boycott the popular Eurovision song contest next year if Israel is allowed to participate.
For analyst Oriol Bartomeus, professor of political science at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Sánchez’s long campaign against Israel’s invasion in Gaza has benefited from grass-roots protests in cycling races.
“What happened to Vuelta is a symptom of the left’s anger about the problem,” Bartomus told the Associated Press. “This is expected to be the main point of cohesion in Spanish society. Sanchez is not stupid, he’s already there.”
The protesters aim to take action again on Sunday as Madrid ends. Authorities will deploy 1,500 police officers in the final stage, which adds to 130 police officers who have already participated in the competition.
