Top to bottom: Giovani Comunisti/e (Young Communists) at the general strike for Gaza in Ancona, Marche; Piazza Duca d'Aosta in Milan, facing Milano Centrale railway station, crowded with people before the riots (credits: Chronocol Media); protesters climb the metro escalators to enter the main hall of Milano Centrale station, where police officers await them at the top (credits: Chronocol Media)
The protests followed a separate day of more limited industrial action, lasting four hours and excluding essential public services, that was called for 19 September by the Transport Federation of the Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL), Italy's largest trade union.[8][9][15][16] CUB Trasporti, which joined the 19 September action,[17] withdrew from the 22 September strike along with USB Lavoro Privato.[18] The Catholic Italian Confederation of Trades Unions (CISL) and the moderate Italian Labour Union (UIL) did not participate, opting instead for fundraising and solidarity initiatives.[19]
On 20 September, protests in support of the general strike, and with its same goals, continued in various places of Italy, such as in Mestre where over ten thousand people protested, blocking the entrance to the city entirely, with the official support of CGIL, USB, parties that include the Five Star Movement (M5S), the Democratic Party (PD) and the Greens and Left Alliance (AVS), and organizations such as ANPI and the Italian-based NGOEmergency.[20][21] Another ten thousand people also gathered in Turin on the same day, sponsored by Rete Torino per Gaza ("Turin Network for Gaza"), local mosques and political parties such as M5S and Power to the People.[22] A minor protest was also scheduled in Rome where the organization Last Generation proclaimed an unauthorized hunger strike protest supporting the general strike and the Palestinian cause, which was however halted before its start with the arrest of 4 activists.[23]
The general strike of some metropolitan lines started to be applied as early as 21:00 local time, on September 21.[24]
Events
Rete degli Studenti Medi at the general strike for Gaza in AnconaThe facade of Milano Centrale railway station from Piazza Duca d'Aosta after the square was cleared, with Carabinieri advancing towards Via Vittor Pisani, where the protest had been dispersed. (credits: Chronocol Media)A man stands facing police on Via Vittor Pisani during a brief pause in the protest, moments before another police charge. (credits: Chronocol Media)
The attacks had caused protests in many places of Italy.[30] The very first reaction was from CGIL, which announced an immediate protest in Piazza di Monte Citorio in Rome (where the Chamber of Deputies is located).[31] Another protest in Rome, protesting armament sale to Israel and involving action in front of a Rheinmetall factory, continued even after the arrival of law enforcement, with some individuals chaining themselves to the entrance of the building.[32] Student movements in Rome protested and also occupied various universities and schools, protesting the attack on the Flotilla;[33][34] students at Sapienza University announced a permanent occupation of the faculty until agreements with Israeli universities are suspended, following the example of other Italian institutions.[35] In Turin, at least over two thousand people reunited in Piazza Castello,[36][37] making its way to the Torino Porta Susa railway station; after reaching the station, some of the protesters entered the trains where they shouted and hanged various slogans and posters,[37] whilst others, around 20:00 local time, occupied the railway track of the station, blocking the circulation of the local train.[38] In Florence, students organized a protest which started in Via Santo Spirito and ended in front of the local U.S. consulate. Meanwhile, in Livorno and Taranto, protests prevented Israeli ships from docking in the port.[39][40] In Milan, a protest sponsored by CUB started in Piazza della Scala before going towards Piazza Castello, with protesters chanting "Bella ciao".[37] In Pisa, a protest started in Piazza XX Settembre, before the protesters occupied the San Rossore railway station, preventing various trains from circulating.[41] In Bologna, the Prima Piazza del Nettuno and its sorrounding areas were occupied by a protest which counted thousands of people with many of them asking for Israeli exclusion from the Giro dell'Emilia; the University of Bologna was also occupied.[42] Protests also took place in Osnago, Cuneo and Verona.[43][44][45] On September 25, protests continued, including one in Macerata in which the group "Saturdays for Palestine" protested in Piazza della Libertà, one in Spoleto and one in Chieti.[46][47][48] CGIL Catania also protested in Piazza Stesicoro with a partial strike and demonstration.[49]
USB announced that on 26 September a new general strike, with the same goals as the last one, was going to be held due to the renewed Israeli attacks of 24 September.[31][50] Starting from that day, USB, along with Global Movement for Gaza and Palestinian associations in Italy, set up a permanent mobilization across squares and public spaces in the country, named 100 Piazze per Gaza and beginning in Piazza dei Cinquecento in Rome.[51][52] Organizers vowed to escalate the pressure on the government on the next national demonstration, to be held in Rome on 4 October.[4][35][51][52] In the late hours of 27 September, dockworkers at the port of Genoa blocked a weapons cargo from being loaded on the Israel-bound Zim New Zealand vessel, forcing it to leave empty;[53][54] this followed a day of public demonstrations organized by Collettivo Autonomo Laboratori Portuali (CALP), Music For Peace, USB, CGIL, UIL, student and the local Catholic clergy, and led by the mayor of the city Silvia Salis and the president of LiguriaMarco Bucci; it also saw the continued occupation of the University of Genoa[54] and a public assembly among delegations of dockworkers' unions from around Europe, including France, Greece, Slovenia, Cyprus, the Basque Country and Hamburg.[55]
Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni criticized the strike, calling protesters "hooligans" and claiming that clashing with the police and destroying private property would not help the people in Gaza;[2][6] ministers Matteo Salvini and Matteo Piantedosi, and Senate chair Ignazio La Russa, joined her remarks.[2][26] Media have highlighted the posture of the Meloni government as strictly pro-Israel during the war, with the cabinet ruling out any recognition of the State of Palestine in contrast with what numerous other European countries chose to do at the opening of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly.[1][6][8] Replying to Meloni, opposition leader Elly Schlein stated her condemnation for the violence of "a few hundred protesters" while demanding that the government distance itself from "Netanyahu's crimes in Gaza and the West Bank".[2]
Il Fatto Quotidiano criticized the coverage of the strike by the government agencies and "almost all" the daily newspapers, alleging that they focused on events in Milan and exaggerated damage to the Centrale station, but ignored or marginalized the reports of mass assemblies in public urban spaces.[56]
Israel
The Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, in co-operation with the J-soc National Center for Combating Antisemitism, closely monitored the strike and protests, and compiled a detailed dossier on the protests and their participants in both Italy and San Marino, which was publically published on Israel's official government website by 24 September.[57][58][59][60] The Coordinamento dei Collettivi Autorganizzati Universitari (CAU) defined the dossier "creepy" and questioned the reasons why the Israeli government would produce such a document and record activities of people outside of its national borders, adding that protesters have always been publicly identifiable citizens determined in good faith to stop a genocide.[58][60]
Palestine
News of the protests reached the Gaza Strip and were welcomed with positivity by various Palestinians, including Palestinian writer Eman Abu Zayed.[61]
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