Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters on Monday clashed with police and marched on roads in several Italian cities against Giorgia Meloni's far-right government's decision not to recognise a Palestinian state.
Blockades, strikes, and marches were seen on roads, as hundreds of people clashed with the local police in Milan. Videos on social media showed a sea of people in different cities of the countries, raising banners and shouting slogans.
The demonstrations came on the same day as France and other countries prepared to recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, following recognition by the UK, Australia and Canada on Sunday.
However, Meloni’s government has refused to follow suit. While it has condemned Israel’s continued military offensive in Gaza and insisted no Italian arms have been sold to Israel since the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, it has also rejected immediate recognition of a Palestinian state and voiced opposition to EU trade sanctions on Israel.
Unconfirmed reports on social media claimed more than 60 cops were injured in the clashes.
In Rome, some 20,000 people gathered in front of the main Termini train station, according to local police, many of them students, shouting “Free Palestine!" and holding up Palestinian flags.
The demonstrations were part of a nationwide strike, 'Let's Block Everything', called by trade unions against the mass killings of Palestinians in Gaza.
Police in riot gear used tear gas to disperse protesters at the central station in Milan while a group of demonstrators dressed in black and waving the Palestinian flag used a pole to smash a window at the station and threw a chair at police. The clashes left over 60 police officers injured and led to the arrest of over 10 people in Milan, state media reported.
As dockworkers blocked ports in solidarity with the Palestinians, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, under fire from her political opponents for her position on Gaza, called the violence shameful. Even though Italy voted in favour of a Palestinian statehood at the UN earlier this month, Meloni has, for now, decided against formally recognising a Palestinian state.
In a post on X, Meloni expressed outrage over clashes at Milan’s central train station, where protesters allegedly threw objects and smashed windows, prompting police to respond with tear gas.
“Outrageous images coming from Milan,” Meloni wrote. “Self-proclaimed ‘pro-Pal’ individuals, self-proclaimed ‘antifa’ members, self-proclaimed ‘pacifists’ who wreak havoc on the train station and provoke clashes with Law Enforcement,” the Italian PM wrote.
Meloni further noted that, “Violence and destruction have nothing to do with solidarity and that will not change a single thing in the lives of people in Gaza.”
She added that it is Italian citizens who will ultimately suffer the consequences, as they “end up paying for the damages caused by these thugs.”
(With inputs from agencies)
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