WORLD NEWS
ROME (Italy): Hundreds of thousands of people marched through central Rome for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People with banners and flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organisers said attracted more than 1 million people, while police put the figure at around 250,000.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilise individually,” said Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome. “If we don’t all mobilise, then nothing will change.”
The protest, in bright sunshine, was peaceful, with students, children, and the elderly attending. It also featured at least one banner hailing Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, and anti-Israeli chants.
Towards the end of the march, around 200 people broke away and clashed with officers in riot gear near the St. Mary Major basilica, police said. Officers responded with tear gas and water cannons.
In later incidents, protesters set fire to a couple of cars and several rubbish bins, and hurled firecrackers at officers, police said, adding they detained 12 suspects and took down the names of 262 people.
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy, they have happened daily, and in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million people, organisers said. The Interior Ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Saturday blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
Read more:https://nayakashmir.com/world-praises-hamas-approach-over-trumps-gaza-plan/
