Students occupy defence firm’s HQ in Italy to protest Gaza war complicity
About 100 students have occupied Leonardo’s LDOF.MI Turin headquarters to denounce what they say is the Italian defence group’s complicity in Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.
The students, who unfurled a flag of the Palestinian territories from the roof of Leonardo’s offices, said the company was supporting the war by providing remote technical assistance and spare parts to Israel’s air force.
Images released by the students show them in Leonardo’s offices waving Palestinian flags and carrying spray cans. Outside, they hung banners on the buildings saying “No arms to Israel”, accusing the group of complicity in genocide.
They also clambered on top of a plane in the grounds of the company’s headquarters.
Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto condemned the protest, saying that the students were “destroying and defacing” the offices where an “important meeting with the staff of the defence ministry” was taking place.
Pro-Palestine demonstrations in Amsterdam
Pro-Palestine demonstrators rallied in central Amsterdam, defying a ban imposed after violence stemming from a football match between Ajax and Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv. Dozens of demonstrators, some with Palestinian flags, chanted “Amsterdam is saying no to genocide” and “Free Palestine”.
Police with expanded stop-and-search powers in the Dutch capital have detained or removed hundreds of demonstrators since last week’s clashes under emergency measures imposed until Thursday.
