Palma will suffer traffic disruptions and bus diversions due to the demonstration in support of Palestine on Sunday, 5 October, between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. According to a press release from Palma City Council, there will be several traffic disruptions in the centre of Palma along the route of the demonstration. The march will start at Plaza Francesc Garcia i Orell, continue along Nuredduna, Avenida Alexandre Rosselló, Plaza de España, Porta Pintada, Oms, Rambla, Calle Unió, Born and Constitució.
During the march, traffic will be closed in both directions on Avenidas, Calle Aragó, Calle Eusebi Estada, Calle 31 de Diciembre and General Riera, which will be closed in the direction of Avenidas. Traffic will also be cut off on Vía Roma, Jaime III and Antoni Maura. In addition, the car parks in Plaza de España and Comte Sallent will close their exits towards the avenues. The car park in Plaza Mayor will also close its exit onto Las Ramblas. The streets will be reopened as the demonstration progresses.
For its part, the Municipal Transport Company (EMT) will divert bus routes. The City Council recommends checking the detours on the official website or mobile app. In the meantime, the PSIB Balearic Socialist Party has demanded the release of the members of the Global Sumud Flotilla detained by Israel and has asked the government not to ‘abandon’ the five Balearic members of the expedition, and has called for an end to the genocide in Palestine.
The deputy secretary general of the PSIB, Rosario Sánchez, made this demand during an event organised on Friday in front of the PSIB headquarters, where a Palestinian flag and a banner reading ‘stop the genocide’ with a dove drawn on it were displayed. The socialist representative thus expressed her condemnation of the genocide in Gaza, which she described as a ‘systematic slaughter of the most vulnerable, children and women’, with the aim of ‘annihilating all forms of life in Palestinian territory’ and in contravention of any international declaration of human rights.
‘The PSIB joins the civil outcry heard in the streets to put an end to this regrettable and painful situation in Palestine,’ she said. She also expressed her solidarity with the members of the Global Sumud Flotilla, who have been ‘illegally detained’ on a humanitarian mission. In addition, he thanked the Foreign Ministry for ‘putting itself at the service’ of the volunteers to offer them legal assistance.
Sánchez has asked the regional government ‘not to abandon’ the five Balearic Islanders who were travelling in the flotilla, three from Mallorca and two from Menorca, who are in a ‘vulnerable situation’ and must be given support.
When asked about the arrival of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford in the Bay of Palma, she considered it a ‘usual’ visit and part of the military manoeuvres carried out by NATO. Sánchez maintained that the Spanish government is the one that ‘has led at the international level’ the demand to stop the genocide in Gaza and for international organisations to intervene in this situation.
The Israeli military intercepted the last boat in an aid flotilla attempting to reach blockaded Gaza on Friday, a day after stopping most of the vessels and detaining some 450 activists including Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg. The organisers of the Global Sumud Flotilla said the Marinette was intercepted some 42.5 nautical miles (79 km) from Gaza. Israeli army radio said the navy had taken control of the last ship in the flotilla, detained those aboard and that the vessel was being led to Ashdod port in Israel. In a statement, the Global Sumud Flotilla said Israeli naval forces had now "illegally intercepted all 42 of our vessels—each carrying humanitarian aid, volunteers, and the determination to break Israel's illegal siege on Gaza".
A camera broadcasting from the Marinette showed someone holding up a note saying "We see a ship! It's a war ship", before a boat is seen approaching and soldiers boarding. A voice is heard telling the people on board not to move and to put their hands in the air. An Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the boat's status. The ministry said on Thursday the flotilla's one remaining vessel would be prevented from breaching the blockade if it tried to.
The flotilla, which set sail in late August, marked the latest attempt by activists to challenge Israel's naval blockade of the enclave, almost two years into Israel's siege of Gaza which was sparked by militant group Hamas' October 7 attacks. Israeli officials have repeatedly denounced the mission as a stunt. The foreign ministry had said the flotilla was previously warned that it was approaching an active combat zone and violating a "lawful naval blockade", and asked organisers to change course. It had offered to transfer aid to Gaza.
The Israeli foreign ministry on Friday said that four Italians had been deported. "The rest are in the process of being deported. Israel is keen to end this procedure as quickly as possible," it said in a statement. All the flotilla participants were "safe and in good health", it added. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators took to the streets in cities across Europe as well as in Karachi, Buenos Aires and Mexico City on Thursday to protest the flotilla's interception. On Friday, tens of thousands of Italians demonstrated, as part of a day-long general strike called by unions in support of the flotilla.
During a visit to Ashdod on Thursday night, Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was filmed calling the activists "terrorists" as he stood in front of them. "These are the terrorists of the flotilla," he said, speaking in Hebrew and pointing at dozens of people sitting on the ground. His spokesperson confirmed the video was filmed at Ashdod port on Thursday night. Some activists are heard shouting "Free Palestine".
Cyprus said one of the flotilla boats had docked in Cyprus with 21 foreigners aboard. The vessel had asked to dock in Larnaca for refuelling and humanitarian reasons, a Cypriot government spokesperson said. The spokesperson did not identify the boat, or say whether it had been among those stopped by the Israeli military. Israel has faced widespread global condemnation over the war in Gaza, and is defending itself against charges of genocide in the International Court of Justice.
Israel says its actions have been in self-defence and has consistently denied genocide allegations. Israel's offensive has killed over 66,000 people, Palestinian health authorities say. It began after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.
About 1,200 people were killed during the assault, and 251 were taken hostage, according to Israeli figures. Israel has accepted a new U.S. proposal announced this week to end the war that demands Hamas surrender. U.S. President Donald Trump, who said he would temporarily oversee governance of Gaza under the plan, has given Hamas a few days to respond, and warned Hamas that Israel would continue its siege of Gaza if the group refused.