In Donostia–San Sebastián the Ertzaintza on 24 September 2026 an occupied warehouse in Calle Jolastokieta in the Herrera cleared and then sealed. According to consistent local reports, the operation proceeded without incident.
The citizens’ initiative Harrera Sarea said the eviction had affected around 30 people who had been sleeping in the pavilion. An initiative spokesperson, Brenda Fernández, said those affected had received written notice the night before, giving them “not even 24 hours” to secure their most important belongings and leave the site of their own accord. According to people close to the initiative, several people left the building before the officers arrived.
The Basque Security Department confirmed the police operation in Herrera. It said the warehouse was largely empty when the Ertzaintza entered; clearing it and then sealing the entrance took only a short time. No information was initially available about any accommodation offered by the city to those directly affected.
The background is a series of similar operations in the Vaguada de Jolastokieta. In previous months, several industrial and warehouse buildings where homeless people had temporarily sought shelter were cleared there. Social associations and aid organisations have long criticised the shortage of emergency accommodation available at short notice in Donostia. Harrera Sarea is calling on the city council to provide clear, reliable and transparent emergency accommodation capacity, and to improve coordination between municipal services and civil society initiatives.
Views differ on the nature of the current operation: while Harrera Sarea criticises the very short notice and highlights above all the social consequences for those affected, other local media report that it proceeded in an orderly fashion, with some people who had been sleeping there leaving the warehouse voluntarily. No official figures have yet been published on available places in municipal emergency accommodation or on the arrangements for the individuals directly affected.
What is confirmed is that the latest operation in Herrera highlights the difficult situation on Calle Jolastokieta. It remains to be seen whether sealing the warehouse will bring lasting order to the situation or exacerbate displacement. Decisions by the city of Donostia on short-term accommodation and on how to handle occupied warehouses are crucial to easing the situation.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).