On Wednesday, in the first consultation of the inauguration debate of the acting president of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, most of the deputies of the Sumar Parliamentary Group exhibited “pins” in the shape of watermelon in tribute to Palestine, on the flag on which the fruit of the homeland was written.
Sources from Izquierda Unida explained that this is an initiative of this party, which had distributed the “pins” to all the deputies of the Sumar organization and to some other parliamentary organizations. On the contrary, in addition to those of IU, the spokesperson of the organization, Marta Loís; Madrid’s number two, the former ambassador to the UN, Agustín Santos; and the deputy spokespersons, Aina Vidal and Águeda Micó.
With watermelon on the lapel of her white suit, Yolanda Díaz took the stage to ask Pedro Sánchez to take action against the Israeli bombardment of Gaza. It was proposed to summon the Spanish ambassador to Israel for consultations, or to suspend the sale of arms to Israel or sanctions.
The watermelon pin was also exhibited through the representative of Més pour Mallorca, Vicenç Vidal, and through the representative of the Chunta Aragonesista, Jorge Pueyo, but not through those of ERC or EH Bildu, sympathizers of the Palestinian cause. PSOE or the rest of the parties represented in Congress. As for Podemos, it has sought another and more classic way to express its support for the Palestinians.
The use of watermelon as a symbol alluding to the Palestinian flag began after the 1967 Six-Day War, when the demonstration of the flag was banned and the fruit began to be used as a symbol.