Two police officers were arrested and 22 were injured in clashes with pro-Palestinian demonstrators. This is the balance after the end of the final stage of the Vuelta a España cycling race. The race was stopped 56 km before the finish line.
Protesters in defense of the Palestinian people and against the Israeli offensive in Gaza did not miss the opportunity to prevent the final stage of the race from taking place.
After weeks of blockades, peloton exits on the route and fallen cyclists, the demonstrators did not allow the tour to have its finale in Madrid. According to data from the Spanish government, over 100,000 people participated in the protests along the route. They blocked key streets and intersections in the capital in the afternoon and clashed with riot police. After the race was stopped, thousands of protesters gathered in central Madrid with pro-Palestinian flags.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar criticized Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez for "encouraging" the protesters, calling his words "shameful".
At a rally in Malaga earlier on Sunday, Sanchez expressed his "admiration" for the protesters. A number of Spanish ministers also supported the demonstrations with posts on social media, while the opposition sharply criticized them and accused the prime minister of being personally responsible for the failure of the final stage of the competition.
In Britain, the Royal College of Defence Studies will not accept students from Israel from next year because of the war in Gaza, the British government confirmed.
The Royal College of Defence Studies is one of the most prestigious military academies in Britain. It is the first time the college has excluded Israelis since it was founded in 1927 in line with Winston Churchill's vision of "promoting greater understanding between senior military officers, diplomats, civil servants and officials".
Israeli Defense Ministry Director General Amir Baram, who studied at the college, said the decision was "a deeply dishonest act of disloyalty to an ally at war". In a letter to the Ministry of Defence in London, seen by the Daily Telegraph, Amir Baram called it a "discriminatory act" that represented a "shameful break with Britain's proud tradition of tolerance and decency".
A spokesman for the British Ministry of Defence said that military training courses had long been open to personnel from "a wide range of countries, with an emphasis on compliance with international humanitarian law". He added that "the Israeli government's decision to further escalate its military operation in Gaza is wrong and there must be a diplomatic solution to end this war now, with an immediate ceasefire, the return of hostages and increased humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza".
Link to main version
Sep 15, 2025 05:15 322