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It’s not often that small Spanish villages make international headlines. But this time, they’ve had enough. Eight towns in the Axarquia region of southern Spain have officially condemned what they call the “genocide in Gaza” and declared open support for the Palestinian people. The list includes Alcaucin, Almachar, Benamargosa, Benamocarra, Iznate, La Viñuela, Periana, and Totalan, places better known for olive groves and village fiestas than political declarations. But this is different. A movement born in a women’s meeting It all started with a local event organised by the Women’s Association of Totalan, with help from the citizen platform Axarquia por Palestina. What began as a discussion on the humanitarian crisis turned into a full-on campaign. The platform draughted a motion that local councils could adopt, something “beyond symbolic”, as they put it. And it caught on fast. Other towns across Malaga province, like El Burgo, Alora and Almargen, have since joined in. Even places as far as La Gomera in the Canary Islands and Sanlucar de Barrameda in Cadiz have passed similar motions. From statements to real political action According to Axarquia por Palestina, the approved motions condemn “the genocide in Gaza, the use of hunger as a weapon of war, and the apartheid regime imposed on the Palestinian people by Israel”. They also call on Spain and the European Union to cut diplomatic and trade relations with Israel, suspend arms sales, and push for immediate international intervention to end what they describe as “crimes against humanity”. Local councils have also declared their municipalities Apartheid-Free Zones, a symbolic but powerful gesture of solidarity. “Silence is complicity” “The silence and inaction in the face of the massacre in Gaza would be a form of complicity,” the motion reads. The towns reaffirmed their support for “the Palestinian people’s right to live in peace, freedom, and sovereignty”. Across Malaga and the rest of Andalusia, more councils are expected to join the movement in the coming months. Read here more news from Axarquia.
