New Delhi: Protesters against Israel’s Gaza offensive clashed with police in Milan and other Italian cities on Monday as tens of thousands marched in Rome
and dockworkers blocked ports in solidarity with Palestinians.
Police in riot gear fired tear gas to try to disperse protesters at the central station in Milan, a Reuters witness reported. The protesters, some dressed in black and others waving the Palestinian flag, used a pole to smash a window at the station and hurled a chair at police during the clashes.
More than 10 people were arrested in Milan and around 60 police officers suffered bruising or more serious injuries, Italy’s ANSA news agency reported.
The protests were part of a nationwide strike called by trade unions against the mass killings of Palestinians in Gaza.
Meloni condemns violence and destruction
At the port in Venice, police deployed water cannon to help break up demonstrations. Workers also staged protests at ports in the cities of Genoa, Livorno and Trieste. The dockworkers say they are seeking to prevent Italy from being used as a staging post for the transfer of arms and other supplies to Israel used in its war against Hamas in Gaza.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the scenes in Milan, Italy’s financial capital and co-host of the Winter Olympics next February. “(This was) violence and destruction that have nothing to do with solidarity and will not change the lives of people in Gaza by a fraction, but will have concrete consequences for Italian citizens who will end up suffering and paying for the damage caused by these hooligans,” she said on X. Meloni’s right-wing government is a traditional supporter of Israel within Europe, and has ruled out following other Western nations by recognising a Palestinian state.
Protestors halt traffic
Protesters halted traffic on a motorway close to the city of Bologna before being dispersed by water cannon, while in Rome tens of thousands rallied outside the main train station before a march that blocked a major ring road.
In the southern city of Naples, there were skirmishes with police as crowds forced their way into the main railway station. Some of them briefly got on to the tracks, causing delays to services.
Demonstrations were held in cities up and down Italy, schools were closed and the strikes affected some public transport. In the northwestern city of Genoa, protesters among a crowd of several hundred people waved the Palestinian flag during gatherings around the port. “The Palestinian people continue to give us yet another lesson in dignity and resistance,” said Ricky, a protester in Genoa from a grassroots labour group called the Autonomous Port Workers’ Collective. “We learn from them and try to do our part,” he added.
