‘Humanity and determination’: Strike begins in Italy over Gaza genocide
A general strike in Italy in support of the Gaza aid flotilla disrupted trains and threatened more commuter chaos in a second day of demonstrations in Rome.
The strike – called by the USB and CFIL unions – follows demonstrations on Thursday in several cities across the world, including in Milan and Rome, where some 10,000 people marched from the Colosseum.
Protesters began to amass again on Friday morning in Rome to march to the vast plaza outside the central train station of Termini, where services were cancelled or delayed for up to 80 minutes.
“The squares will be packed,” the head of the CGIL union Maurizio Landini told Radio Anch’io.
“It shows the humanity and determination of decent people who want to stop genocide and are doing what governments and states have pretended not to see or are even complicit in,” Landini added.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators protest during a nationwide strike called by unions
Gaza rallies shut down Italy as anger with gov’t response rises
Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets across Italy during a general strike, in solidarity with the people in Gaza suffering through nearly two years of deadly Israeli attacks and siege.
Andrea Dessi, a professor at the American University of Rome, said the mass support has been growing for weeks now as Israel’s assault intensifies on the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.
“It’s an incredible outpouring of spontaneous civic activism in solidarity with Gaza, and also demonstrating significant frustration and even anger with the politics of the Italian government,” Dessi told Al Jazeera.
“Considering the extreme emergency of the past two years of genocide in Gaza, we have seen the Italian government steer its policies increasingly towards Israel, increasingly towards Donald Trump in the United States.”
Another rally is planned on Saturday in Rome, and Dessi said up to one million people are estimated to take part.
Demonstrators rally during the gathering in the Italian capital
