Sawt Falasteen - Spain to deploy 'extraordinary' security for Vuelta finale

The demonstrations, which have targeted the Israel-Premier Tech team over the devastating war in Gaza, have impacted several stages of the 21-day race and cast doubt on organisers' ability to see it through to its completion.

The central government's representation in Madrid said in a statement that more than 400 extra Civil Guards will protect the penultimate stage on Saturday and 1,100 police officers will deploy for Sunday's finale.

The "extraordinary deployment" would be the police's largest security effort since Madrid hosted the 2022 NATO summit, the statement added.

"With this reinforcement, the aim is to make compatible the unfolding of the sporting event in the two Madrid stages... and the legitimate right to protest," the authorities said.

Race organisers had denied they were weighing whether or not to cancel the final stages but have suggested that Israel-Premier Tech withdraw for the other teams' safety.

Protesters have burst onto the course and caused crashes, while last week's stage 11 was neutralised before the finish in Bilbao with no winner declared due to demonstrators disrupting the run-in.

On Tuesday, hundreds of protesters blocked a road close to the finish and faced off with police, forcing stage 16 in the northwestern region of Galicia to be shortened.

Riders have said they will neutralise stage 17 on Wednesday if further protests disrupt the competition.

"We decided that if there is an incident, we would try to neutralise the race and then that would be it," Australia's Jack Haig told reporters.

"In the end, racing to an undefined finish line is not really fair sport," the Bahrain Victorious rider added.

- Widespread Palestinian support -

Israel-Premier Tech, owned by Israeli-Canadian property developer Sylvan Adams, is a private outfit and not a state team but was hailed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for continuing to compete despite the vehement protests.

The Palestinian cause enjoys widespread support in Spain, whose poor relations with Israel nosedived even further this week, leading Madrid to recall its ambassador from Tel Aviv and bar two far-right Israeli government ministers.

The Gaza war was triggered by an unprecedented cross-border attack on Israel by Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.

Palestinian militants also seized 251 hostages on that day, with 47 still held in Gaza, including 25 believed to be dead.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 64,000 Palestinians, mainly civilians, according to figures from Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.

B.Mahmoud--SF-PST