Pedro Sánchez's appearance to announce ‘nine measures for immediate implementation’ which, in his own words, seek to ‘stop the genocide in Gaza, prosecute its perpetrators and support the Palestinian people’ has had a major political impact. But the first thing to note is that this decision is undoubtedly the direct result of the mobilization of millions in Spain and around the world, a real victory for the struggle in the streets.
It is impossible to hide the outrage that is shaking the world and our country. The struggle in support of the Palestinian people has turned into a battle against the capitalist governments of the West that finance, arm and sponsor the Zionist holocaust in Gaza.
The popular rage, fuelled by the boycott of the Vuelta Ciclista, the mass farewell to the Global Sumud Flotilla in numerous cities, announcements of mobilizations for September, the general student strike on 2 October called by the Student Union, and the mass demonstrations to be held on the weekend of 4 and 5 October, have placed the government in a difficult dilemma.
Continuing with empty gestures that do not break with complicity and not taking any initiative that really puts pressure on the Netanyahu regime is becoming unbearable. This explains the sharp collision between government policy and the social and electoral base of the left.
70,000 Palestinians killed, a shocking famine, plans for an immediate military occupation of Gaza City — with the expulsion of thousands of families to towns that have been wiped off the map and without conditions for human life — 90% of homes destroyed, hospitals demolished by bombing, 300 journalists killed... It is impossible to understand and is stirring the conscience of the working class and youth. This is what has pushed Sánchez and his government to take a decision that is at odds with the official line of the EU and US imperialism.
Obviously, these measures have been received with enormous sympathy by millions of people here and in other countries, and will also contribute to increasing pressure on European governments. Polls show a spectacular increase in the percentage of the population that rejects genocide and demands sanctions against Israel to stop it. In virtually all cases, it is above 50%, and in others, such as the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, South Korea... it exceeds 60% and even 70%.
Support for the Palestinian cause in Spain is among the highest in the world. According to the Elcano Royal Institute (which is in no way suspected of anti-imperialism or anti-Zionism), in August, 82% of the population believed that genocide was taking place in Gaza, and 70% demanded sanctions and concrete measures from the EU and the government to stop it. Rejection is practically unanimous among PSOE voters and those to their left. But, for the first time, according to Elcano, it is also a majority view among right-wing voters.
Words are useless; only actions count.
In his speech, the Prime Minister spoke of the ‘urgent approval of a Decree Law that legally consolidates the arms embargo on Israel that we have been applying de facto since October 2023’. However, it is categorically false that the sale and purchase of arms has been suspended since October 2023, as the Palestine solidarity movement has repeatedly denounced.
On 19 February 2025, an investigation by Progressive International, the Palestinian Youth Movement and the American Friends Service Committee was made public, denouncing that ‘more than 60,000 pieces of weaponry (...) artillery parts and accessories, rifles, rocket launchers/grenades and machine guns, revolvers and pistols’ (...) had left Zaragoza airport to Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv". More recently, the Delàs Centre reported that, as of May this year, the Spanish state had made at least 88 arms shipments worth €5.3 million to Israel, importing Zionist military equipment worth more than €36.7 million, which has gone to finance the genocide.
We know from experience that this government remains tied to US imperialism. Despite Sánchez's statements ‘distancing’ himself from Trump's demands, the PSOE and Sumar have given the green light to the largest military budgets in history. They have shown with the imperialist war in Ukraine and their desertion of the Sahrawi’s cause that they will not confront with Washington, neither will break with the military strategy of NATO.
Immediately after Sánchez's appearance, sources within the government itself assured that ‘the Defence Cooperation Agreement with the United States, according to which the Pentagon is free not to report on the final destination of the weapons it transports through these Spanish military bases, will not be modified’. In other words, the military bases in Rota and Morón will continue to be used by the US army to supply weapons to Netanyahu and continue massacring the Palestinian people. This is the best way to sabotage the measures that have been approved.
That is why it is essential that the mass mobilization continues in a determined manner, and that the battle being fought takes a leap forward in scope and forcefulness, with the call for a general strike to paralyze the country.
Business pressure in favour of genocide
Although this is not being said by socialist and Sumar ministers, Spanish and European banks and large business groups are making a fortune by trading with the Nazi-Zionist regime and financing its military industry. Therefore, let not be fooled: the capitalists will push ahead with their plans, using Junts and PNV, and above all the PP and Vox, to vote in Parliament against any measures that go in this direction.
During his appearance, Pedro Sánchez stated that ‘Spain has no nuclear bombs, no aircraft carriers, nor large oil reserves’ and, therefore, ‘we cannot stop the Israeli offensive on our own’. However, banks such as Santander and BBVA are among the ten main financiers of the Zionist war machine, and together with Caixabank, Ibercaja, Comsa, CAF and an endless list of Spanish companies, they maintain investments that are fundamental to develop the genocide.
A public company such as INECO, which reports to the Ministry of Transport and Mobility, has a permanent office in Israel and, according to its website, ‘has consolidated its position after more than ten years of operation’, with investments in the light rail network connecting Jerusalem with the settlements in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories.
If Pedro Sánchez believes that combating genocide is one of those ‘causes worth fighting for’ and ‘we must not stop trying’, why does he not break off political and economic relations with Israel once and for all, applying harsh sanctions to Spanish companies and banks that seek to continue financing the holocaust planned by Netanyahu and Trump? This decision would put tremendous pressure on other complicit governments, dealing a severe blow to the Nazi-Zionist regime.
The response of the global far right to the Spanish government's announcement has been hysterical. Starting with Netanyahu and his foreign minister, who have described it as anti-Semitic and collaboration with Hamas, accusing Sánchez of continuing the campaign of 1492 with the expulsion of Jews from Spain, or all the nauseating bile spewed by Abascal, Feijoo and that mental eunuch mayor of Madrid, who has denied the existence of genocide in Gaza and is perfectly happy about it.
It is clear that Zionism has become the scourge of the 21st century and the vanguard of fascism and the international far right. For all these forces, Netanyahu is a hero capable of carrying out supremacist ethnic cleansing against the Palestinians, emulating Nazism, but this time in broad daylight and with the support of the great Western imperialist powers.
The genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza has become a fundamental axis of the class struggle in Spain and internationally. And it will continue to be so in the coming months. But we must be aware that the only way to ensure that the arms embargo is enforced and does not end up being a dead letter is to increase social protest and transform it into a massive campaign that paralyses the country.
We have held countless demonstrations that have brought hundreds of thousands of people onto the streets — millions if you count them all — in dozens of cities across Spain. We have organized camps in universities and public squares, raised awareness of our struggle during the Vuelta cycling race, boycotted music festivals linked to the KKR fund, and carried out countless other actions. In many of these actions, we have suffered savage repression by the police and the Civil Guard sent by Minister Marlaska, and hundreds of these activists who were beaten and arrested will be judged in the coming months.
That is why we must put all our forces into supporting the Solidarity Flotilla, emptying universities and colleges on 2 October, turning the demonstrations organized for 4 and 5 October into a new great day of struggle.
And in all these demonstrations we must set a strong and consistent goal: we must organize a 24-hour general strike now. Stop the country to stop the genocide! We must directly challenge the leadership of the CCOO and UGT trade unions. Enough looking to the other way! We have experience and we have memory: in 2003, we organized a two-hour general strike against the imperialist invasion of Iraq and the servant role of the Aznar government. It is time to repeat that strike, but on a much higher level because of what is at stake.
From Izquierda Revolucionaria, we call on and invite all organizations of the struggling left, militant trade unionism, collectives and activists in solidarity with Palestine to promote a large united campaign in favour of the general strike, organizing assemblies in companies, workplaces and factories, approving declarations and resolutions in all our trade union sections, and popularising the call for a strike in all the areas in which we participate. We must hold unity of action meetings in all cities to give strength to this campaign. The conditions exist for this strike to materialise and be a complete success!
A general strike in Spain to stop the genocide would mark a turning point and spread to the entire working class in Europe. If the statements by the dockworkers in Genoa, threatening to block the port in the event of an attack on the flotilla, have had an electric effect, a general strike here would be a blow to the waterline of Zionism and its accomplices, and the effective way to achieve 100% compliance with the arms embargo and a total break in commercial and diplomatic relations.
Stop everything to stop the genocide! General strike now!
Palestine will prevail, from the river to the sea!
