The final stage of the Vuelta a España cycling race was shut down on Sunday after thousands of anti-Israel protesters clashed with police and invaded the course where the race was due to pass in the center of Madrid.

Around 56 kilometers (35 miles) from the finish of the major cycling event, riders came to a halt before the Vuelta was abandoned.

The massive pro-Palestinian protest was the latest and perhaps largest to disrupt the Vuelta this month. At least six of the last 10 stages of the Grand Tour race have been interrupted or shortened by anti-Israel demonstrators, with over 20 people detained by police.

The protests have garnered support from Spain’s top officials, who have been harshly critical of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. The Israeli team competing in the race, Israel-Premier Tech, has stayed in the event despite calls to drop out, and this weekend saw one of its riders take home an award.

On Sunday, ahead of the final stage, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the disruptions filled him with “pride.” In his first public comments on the demonstrations, Sanchez expressed his “recognition and full respect for the athletes, but also our admiration for a people like Spain’s, which mobilizes for just causes, like Palestine.”

“Spain today shines as an example and as a source of pride, an example to an international community where it sees Spain taking a step forward in the defense of human rights,” he told a Socialist party gathering in Malaga, drawing criticism from Jerusalem.

Anticipating more disruptions, Spain deployed more than 1,500 police officers ahead of the final stage of the race in Madrid to keep the protesters at bay. But it wasn’t enough.

On Gran Via, where cyclists were due to pass multiple times, protesters knocked down barriers and marched into the road, some chanting for a boycott of Israel as green and red smoke filled the air. Near Atocha, Madrid’s central train station, police charged demonstrators and fired tear gas, before letting them walk into the road.

Protesters could be heard chanting that Israel was guilty of “genocide.” Authorities later said that more than 100,000 people had taken part in the anti-Israel........

© The Times of Israel