Tens of thousands join pro-Palestinian demos, strikes in Italy

Tens of thousands of people protested on Monday across Italy as part of a day of action to "denounce the genocide in Gaza," which included transport strikes and port blockades.

The demonstrations come the same day as France and other countries prepared to recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, following recognition by the UK, Australia, and Canada on Sunday.

Italy's hard-right government under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said it will not recognize a Palestinian state for now.

In Rome, some 20,0000 people gathered in front of the main Termini train station, according to local police, many of them students, shouting "Free Palestine!" and holding up Palestinian flags.

Some had marched via the Colosseum, those at the front holding up a giant banner saying "Against Genocide. Let's block everything."

In the northern city of Milan, where organizers said 50,000 people turned out, protesters burned a U.S. flag, an AFP reporter saw.

In Bologna, more than 10,000 took to the streets, according to local police, while protesters also took place in Turin, Florence, Naples, and Sicily.

In Genoa and Livorno, dock workers blockaded port entrances, according to Italian media.

Strike action disrupted local buses and the metro service in Rome, while national train operators also warned of delays and cancellations.

Meloni's government, which is ideologically close to U.S. President Donald Trump, has condemned Israel's relentless assault on the besieged Palestinian territory.

It says it had not sold any Italian weapons to Israel since the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas inside Israel.

But it has said it will not, for now, recognize a Palestinian state and has also expressed reluctance about implementing the European Union's proposed trade sanctions on Israel.

According to a recent survey by polling company Only Numbers, published by La Stampa newspaper, almost 64 percent of Italians consider the humanitarian situation in Gaza "very serious" and almost 41 percent want Italy to recognize a Palestinian state.

AFP