As part of a general strike in solidarity with the Global Sumud Flotilla, which Israel intercepted this week as it attempted to aid Palestinians in Gaza, hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets of Italy.
More than two million people showed up for the protests on Friday after trade unions called the strike “in defense of the flotilla” carrying 40 Italians in total and to “stop the genocide,” according to the Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL) on X.
The public and private sectors, according to the Turin-based newspaper La Stampa, “were the ones who were affected by the mobilization, including schools, healthcare, and rail, air, metro, and bus transportation.” Protesters reportedly blocked roads near Pisa, Pescara, Bologna, and Milan and blocked access to the port of Livorno among the numerous acts of dissent, according to the newspaper.
More than 80, 000 people marched in Milan, according to police reports to the news agency AFP, carrying a massive banner that read “Free Palestine, Stop the War Machine” as they made their way through the streets.
This is not just any strike, they say. We’re here today to fight for brotherhood among people, people, to put humanity back at center, to reject genocide, to support a rearmament policy, according to CGIL leader Maurizio Landini, who was quoted by the Reuters news agency.
According to Milena Veselinovic, a reporter from Rome, “there were” many people from all walks of life in the turnout.” You have students, retired people, and many people who have young children who are also emigrating.
Expect a sizable turnout for Saturday’s election in Rome.
Massive protests are scheduled for tomorrow in Rome, where the CGIL reported 300,000 people on Friday. At 2: 30 p.m. (12: 30 GMT), crowds are expected to leave the town square, Piazzale Ostiense.
We were hundreds of thousands today. According to Rome-based newspaper La Repubblica, Maya Issa, the leader of the Palestinian Student Movement, “tomorrow for Palestine we must be a million.”
The Italian government has been “caught on its back foot,” according to Andrea Dessi, an assistant professor of international relations and global politics at the American University of Rome.
Protesters argued that Meloni’s support for a Palestinian state should have been unconditional despite Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s announcement this week that Italy would grant it if Hamas was barred from a future government.
“I think the pressure will keep mounting,” Dessi said. We anticipate a significant, significant march from all over Italy on Saturday, with activists, members, and citizens from Rome, he said.
According to him, their demands include the release of the remaining Italians from the Sumud Flotilla, unconditional support for a Palestinian state, and “more serious sanctions” on Israel for its use of force against Gaza.
Veselinovic for Al Jazeera predicted that the right-wing Italian government would not succumb to pressure. Given that Italy is a significant ally of Israel in the European Union, that is probably unlikely to occur. The government has since adopted a slightly harsher stance toward Israeli officials, in particular because of things like this protest, she said.
Meloni alleged that people were using the protests as an excuse for a longer weekend break, despite the government’s criticism of the strike.
Out of the 40 Italians who were detained from the flotilla, the foreign ministry of Italy announced that Israel had released four of the country’s parliamentarians as a result of the protests. According to the ministry, the two parliamentarians and two members of the European Parliament were scheduled to return to Rome on Friday.
global response
On Thursday, protests in solidarity with the humanitarian convoy, which included prominent people like Greta Thunberg and a number of politicians, spread from Europe to Australia and South America.
About 15, 000 demonstrators marched in Barcelona, where the flotilla’s journey began, chanting “Freiheit for Palestine” and “Gaza, you are not alone.” Ada Colau, a former mayor of Barcelona, was among those who were detained at sea, and he is currently facing deportation along with other activists, including Nelson Mandela’s grandchild.
The flotilla organizers claimed on Friday that Israeli naval forces had “illegally intercepted all 42 of our vessels, each carrying humanitarian aid, volunteers, and the determination to end Israel’s illegal siege on Gaza.” According to them, Marianette, the last boat still standing, was taken at 10:29 am (07:29 GMT) that morning.
More than 470 flotilla participants were “taken into custody by the military police, subjected to rigorous screening, and transferred to the prison administration,” according to Israeli police, according to AFP.
More than 20 journalists were detained from the flotilla, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which includes Al Jazeera, El Pais, and RAI, an Italian public broadcaster.
Israel’s military praised its naval forces’ ability to intercept the flotilla, claiming that the humanitarian mission had violated Israel’s “mere maritime security blockade.”
According to the military statement, Israeli Navy personnel “survived a large-scale incursion attempt by hundreds of individuals aboard 42 naval vessels during Yom Kippur during an operation that lasted for approximately 12 hours”
Israel’s interception of the flotilla’s boats was alleged to be against the law by rights groups, politicians, and UN representative Francesca Albanese.
protests in Israel
Protesters in Israel on Friday staged a sit-in demanding that the flotilla’s aid be allowed into Palestinian territory. Additionally, hundreds of protesters attempted to stop Israeli soldiers from entering the Strip while holding banners calling for the end of the genocide and the imposition of sanctions against Israel.
Hamdah Salhut, a reporter for Al Jazeera, quoted as saying, “These are Israeli peace activists who claim to be members of various organizations from all walks of life in solidarity with the flotilla.” Salhut, who was speaking from Amman.
Salhut reported that the Israeli Navy had seized more than 40 vessels in the port of Ashdod, which is located just north of the Gaza Strip.
