Participants hold a banner reading 'Stop genocide in Palestine/stop weapons trade with Israel' during a demonstration in solidarity with Palestinians in Barcelona, Spain. AFP
The strike is accompanied by around 200 demonstrations across the country, with participants demanding that the Madrid government sever all ties with Israel, drawing parallels with the international boycott movement that helped end apartheid in South Africa.
The strike comes several days after the signing of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, brokered by Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, and the US, based on US President Trump's 20-point plan to end the two-year-old war in Gaza, which went into effect on Friday.
Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) and Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT), the two largest trade unions in Spain, stated last week that “no plan can be considered a lasting peace plan if it excludes the Palestinian people, perpetuates the occupation, or ignores United Nations resolutions.”
According to the unions, the industrial action has been called to ensure that people do not lose sight of what is happening in Palestine, especially after a ceasefire agreement that they argue reproduces "a colonial and apartheid system in Palestine and the Gaza Strip without taking the Palestinians into account."
The Spanish unions hope that their mobilization will ultimately push the various powers to secure a lasting peace.
Santiago de la Iglesia, spokesperson for the General Union of Workers, said the strike “represents an escalation in a long union campaign aimed at forcing a real shift in government policy toward Israel — one that embraces solidarity with the Palestinian people and cuts political, trade, and cultural ties.”
Meanwhile, Coral Campos, secretary-general of the Student Union, said the student strike is a “direct response to the ongoing scenes of killing and displacement in Gaza.”
Álvaro Obrera, spokesperson for Labour Solidarity and the official representative of the strike, added that the action aims to pressure the Spanish government to end all ties with Israel.
The Spanish strike comes amid growing public and union outrage in the country over the Israeli genocidal war on the strip and Israel’s recent attack on the Sumud Flotilla, which had set sail from Barcelona, to break the siege on Gaza.
Several Spaniards were among hundreds of international activists detained then deported by the Israeli authorities after the assault on the flotilla.
The government of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has led the charge in the European Union for member-states to recognize Palestinian statehood and impose sanctions on Israel for its crimes in the Gaza war.
In June 2025, PM Sanchez Spain cancelled a contract to buy 168 firing posts and 1,680 anti-tank missiles from Israeli defence company Rafael.
On Tuesday, following the signing of the ceasefire deal, Sanchez said the truce between Hamas and Israel must not come at the expense of holding accountable those responsible for the "genocide" in Gaza.
"Peace cannot mean forgetting; it cannot mean impunity," the Socialist premier said during an interview with Cadena Ser radio.
"Those who were key actors in the genocide perpetrated in Gaza must answer to justice, there can be no impunity," he added when asked about the possibility of legal proceedings against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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