Former Barcelona mayor to join Freedom Flotilla mission to Gaza

OVIEDO, Spain

Former Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau will be among the international observers on the Freedom Flotilla Coalition mission to break Israel's "illegal blockade” on Gaza, the Spanish chapter of the coalition said on Wednesday.

Rumbo a Gaza told Anadolu in a statement that the fleet will include a cargo ship carrying 5,500 tons of humanitarian aid and three ships for international observers, medical professionals and media.

Rejecting Israel’s control over the entrance of humanitarian aid, Rumbo a Gaza said the organization will not allow Israel to inspect the aid shipment, which has already been checked by Turkish authorities.

It also said it will not allow Israel to control the timing of the delivery.

Colau, the left-wing mayor of Barcelona from 2015 to 2023, said she is opting for this “peaceful” mission that will involve “civil disobedience” to “stop the genocide in Gaza.”

“So many of us in Europe don’t feel represented by our institutions and don’t want to normalize this barbarism. What’s happening in Gaza has crossed all the red lines…
I think we should all do whatever is in our hands to stop it,” she said on Instagram.

Colau will be one of around 20 Spanish observers, including other politicians, joining the mission.

Rumbo a Gaza said it has met with several left-wing political parties in Spain, asked the government to protect the mission and has scheduled a meeting with the Foreign Ministry.

The Spanish NGO added that the mission will depart in the coming days from Türkiye.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition was formed after the 2010 Freedom Flotilla mission, in which Israeli forces killed 10 Turkish civilians and injured 30 others while raiding the flotilla ships in international waters.

The coalition brings together organizations working to end the Israeli blockade of Gaza from countries around the world, including Türkiye, Canada, the US, and South Africa.