BNG Accuses PSOE Over Gaza Arrests

Xabier Pérez Igrexas, the BNG’s municipal spokesperson in Vigo, said on May 20 that the local PSOE had blocked a proposed institutional declaration for the city council to condemn the assault on the Global Sumud flotilla bound for Gaza. The BNG said the rejection came at a meeting of party spokespersons and described the decision as a veto by the Socialist majority led by Mayor Abel Caballero. The dispute centers on a draft text the BNG submitted for the next ordinary plenary session of the Vigo city council. In that proposal, the party asked the council to condemn what it called an Israeli military attack on the flotilla, demand the immediate release of detained activists and express support for Galician participants, including several people from Vigo and its surrounding area. (vigo.bng.gal) The row adds a local political fight in Vigo to a broader campaign by the BNG in Galicia over the flotilla mission and Spain’s response to Gaza. In April, BNG leaders in Madrid and Brussels had already called on the Spanish government and the European Union to protect the convoy before it sailed from Barcelona. (vigo.bng.gal) ### What exactly did the BNG say the PSOE refused to back? The BNG said its proposed declaration asked Vigo’s council, “in the name of the city,” to condemn the attack on the Global Sumud flotilla in waters it described as free-navigation waters within Cyprus’s search-and-rescue zone. The text also called for support for six named Galician participants: Alberte Pagán Vázquez, Ana Fuentes Rey, Andrea Morales Ramos, Benito González Rodríguez, Duarte Ferrín Iglesias and Xurxo Porritt Lueiro. (europapress.es) Xabier Pérez Igrexas said after the spokespersons’ meeting that the Socialist group rejected the proposal “sen ningún argumento” — without any argument. He called the decision “incomprehensible and deeply disappointing,” according to the BNG’s statement. ### Who are the activists at the center of the dispute? (vigo.bng.gal) The BNG’s Vigo branch said the declaration referred to activists traveling on a humanitarian mission to denounce the blockade on Gaza. Its statement said those affected included Galicians and two residents of Vigo, while the attached draft declaration listed six Galician participants by name. (vigo.bng.gal) Europa Press reported on April 11 that the new Global Sumud mission was due to leave Barcelona on April 12 with six representatives from Galicia. A separate Europa Press report on April 12 said a flotilla leaving from Barcelona included 10 Galicians, though it said some identities were being withheld for protection until embarkation. (vigo.bng.gal) ### What is known about the assault and detentions? Europa Press reported on April 30 that BNG lawmaker Néstor Rego said Israeli military boats had attacked and boarded vessels in the Global Sumud flotilla during the previous night south of Kalamata, Greece. Rego described the incident as an assault on a mission in which Galician and other Spanish activists were taking part. (europapress.es) On May 6, Europa Press reported that the PSOE organization in Ribagorza, Aragon, had filed its own motion condemning the attack on the flotilla and denouncing detentions after a local participant said more than 100 people had been detained and some activists had suffered physical violence. That report shows other PSOE bodies in Spain have publicly condemned the incident, even as the Vigo dispute has focused on the local Socialist group’s refusal to endorse the BNG’s wording. (europapress.es) ### Why has this become a fight inside Vigo politics? Abel Caballero’s PSOE governs Vigo with an absolute majority, which gives it control over whether institutional declarations advance. The BNG said the only explanation offered for rejecting its text was that the mayor intended to put forward a different proposal. (europapress.es) The BNG said it would support an alternative declaration if it contained what Igrexas called a “clear and unequivocal” position by the full council on the flotilla attack. The party framed the issue as one of whether Vigo’s institutions should publicly back detained activists and condemn the assault. (vigo.bng.gal) ### When could the issue return to the council chamber? Vigo’s council holds ordinary plenary sessions on the last non-holiday Monday of each month at 9 a.m., according to the city’s plenary rules. In May 2026, that places the next ordinary session on Monday, May 25, when parties can still present or debate Gaza-related motions or declarations. (hoxe.vigo.org) (vigo.bng.gal)