Italy makes a general strike in solidarity with the Gaza Flotilha

Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of Italy on Friday (3) in a general strike and protests in solidarity with the Global Sumud flotilla, intercepted by Israel earlier this week while trying to break the blockade to Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid.

According to the organizers, 300,000 people participated only in the act in Rome, which departed from Piazza Vittorio towards the Central Station of Trains. In Milan, there were 100 thousand; in Naples, 50 thousand; in Venice, 25 thousand; and in cities of Sicily, another 150 thousand.

The stoppage, convened by the trade unions, blocked roads, highways and ports, including Livorno’s, and causes delays and cancellations in the rail network.

In Bologna, protesters marched on the highway surrounding the city, while in Milan the police threw tear gas bombs to disperse groups occupying the ring road.

Trenitalia warned that a million passengers would walk, with the strike extending until 20:59. Train stations were busy from perugia to Cagliari. In Naples, about 10,000 blocked Porto.

Italian demonstrations occurred in parallel to a wave of acts in dozens of European cities and other continents.

In Paris, more than 1,000 people gathered at Republic Square in protest against the Israeli offensive in Gaza and the interception of Flotilha, which was attended by figures such as Greta Thunberg, Nelson Mandela’s grandson, Mandla Mandela, and former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau.

Four Deputies of the French Insubmissive Party (LFI) were on board and are detained, while in Marseille a hundred protesters were arrested to try to block the Eurolinks weapons company.

In Barcelona, ​​streets were banned and there were shocks with the police. In Lisbon, hundreds focused on the Israeli embassy with posters that asked for sanctions against Tel Aviv and freedom for the four Portuguese detained.

More than 3,000 Swiss occupied Cornavin station in Geneva and launched flame tires on the tracks, being dispersed with tear gas.

In Athens, more than a thousand marched to the Israeli embassy, ​​firing fires and flags at the building. Similar mobilizations occurred in Helsinki, Brussels, Hague, Nicosia, Istanbul, New York, Sydney, Kuala Lumpur, Karachi, Buenos Aires and Mexico City.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Italy confirmed that 40 Italians were among the detainees, including two national deputies and two scorers already released. The opposition head, Elly Schlein of the Democratic Party, stated that the flotilla “tried to do what European governments and the European Union should be doing, breaking the blockade that causes hunger in Gaza.”

She asked “a total embargo of weapons, as Spain voted, and the full recognition of the state of Palestine.”