ROME

More than 3,000 people supported Palestine by forming a human mosaic in Guernica, one of the symbolic places of the Spanish Civil War, which was bombed in 1937.

At the event organized in the town of Guernica in northern Spain, people created a mosaic with a human chain, depicting the pain of the victims of Israeli attacks on Gaza and the Palestinian flag.

Organized by the Guernica-Palestine Citizens' Initiative, including trade unions, political parties, and social organizations, the event was held in the Pasialeku Market Place in Guernica, which has gone down in history as the site of the first major bombing against the civilian population. The airstrike caused widespread destruction and many civilian deaths in Guernica.

“The world and history must not accept a new Guernica” was the message of the event.

In the manifesto, the Guernica-Palestine Citizens' Initiative said: “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people,” and asked the international community to share the suffering of the Palestinian people and stop the massacre.

Spanish artist Pablo Picasso painted “Guernica” in Paris, where he lived at the time, to reflect the pain of this attack.

The painting is currently on display at the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid.

*Writing by Zeynep Cetin in Istanbul