Barcelona City Council will hold an emergency plenary session this Friday at 9:30am after the Israeli military detained members of the Gaza humanitarian flotilla. Former mayor Ada Colau and ERC councillor Jordi Coronas were among those aboard.
The speaker’s board agreed to the extraordinary session after requests from BComú and ERC. They’ll read an institutional declaration during the meeting. Meanwhile, PSC and Junts have also joined the initiative, bringing four groups together to read the text.
The groups also agreed to suspend district plenaries. However, both BComú and ERC had criticised Mayor Jaume Collboni for making a solo statement without consulting other council groups. They wanted a unified message instead.
The declaration calls on international institutions, especially the UN and International Criminal Court, to investigate and determine responsibility for possible human rights violations and war crimes. This includes obstructing humanitarian aid and arbitrarily detaining people on humanitarian missions.
It also expresses Barcelona’s solidarity with Gaza, which is suffering a genocide perpetrated by the Israeli government that has caused thousands of deaths and a serious humanitarian crisis, the text states.
BComú deputy spokesperson Marc Serra accused Israel of committing a crime under international law and kidnapping a humanitarian mission. We’re facing a very serious situation, so we need maximum institutional pressure, he told media.
ERC councillor Rosa Suriñach called on people to mobilise and attend protests after the flotilla boarding. She explained they lost communication with Coronas around 8:30pm when his boat was attacked. We’re waiting to see the situation, uncertain about when they’re detained and when deportation might happen, she added.
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