Tens of thousands of people manifest throughout Italy in support of Gaza and the flotilla
Tens of thousands of protesters left this Friday to the streets of the main cities of Italy on a national strike day convened by several unions in solidarity with the Palestinian population and with the activists of the Sumud Global Flotilla, intercepted by Israel.
Poring Palestine flags and posters loaded with symbolism, a crowd, including numerous students, has flooded the squares of the main Italian cities to support the flotilla and demand the government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni that breaks relations with Israel.
In Rome, more than 60,000 people, according to police figures released by local media, have marched from the Plaza Vittorio Emanuele to the Termini station, where people congregate “defending the honor of Italy”, according to the secretary general of CGIL, Maurizio Landini, a union that summoned the strike. “They are here to say yes to solidarity, not the genocide, yes to the brotherhood,” he said, reporting that “workers who hold this country also pay the salary of (Minister of Transportation) Salvini”, who “should respect them.”
In Milan (North), where the CGIL encrypted participation in at least 100,000 people, the demonstration has started to the sound of the partisan anthem Hello beautiful. The protesters have occupied tram tracks and have chanted slogans like “Israel is fascist” and “Israel is a terrorist state,” according to the local press.
In other large cities the streets were also filled with tens of thousands of people, such as Venice (North), Turin (North) or Florence (Center). In the latter, protesters have blocked rail traffic, have climbed fences, occupied roads and placed construction materials, according to images collected by Rai public television. There have also been road blockages in Vicenza, Naples or Pisa.
The protests have also joined opposition representatives, such as the leader of Verde and Left Alliance, Angelo Bonelli, who has accused Meloni of disregarding the “Violence of Netanyahu”: “He doesn’t care at all,” he said. (EFE)
