Italy’s main opposition parties urged tens of thousands of people to demonstrate through the streets of Rome on Saturday against Israel’s war in Gaza, according to the Associated Press.
Wide Participation
The protests came in a crucial time when opposition parties accuse the right-wing government of being too silent regarding what is happening in Gaza.
The rally moved peacefully through the center of Rome with demonstrators holding a banner reading “Stop the massacre, stop complicity!”
Organized by the leftist opposition, the march witnessed the participation of 300,000 people who asked the government to clarify its stance on the conflict in Gaza.
“This is an enormous popular response to say enough to the massacre of Palestinians and the crimes of (Israeli leader Benjamin) Netanyahu’s government,” the leader of Italy’s center-left Democratic Party, Elly Schlein, told reporters at the march.
Breaking Silent
The Italian premier has recently urged Israel to put an immediate end to its military campaign in Gaza, warning that its attacks had increased disproportionately and should be halted to protect civilians.
”(The Italian government) is not reacting despite an abnormal massacre, despite an absolutely cruel and inappropriate reaction. The (Italian) government remains silent,” said Nadin Unali, a Tunisian demonstrator at the march.
A Call for Cutting Relations
Last week, the government of Italy’s southern Puglia region cut relations with Israel over its genocide in Gaza, according to Al-Jazeera.
Puglia Governor Michele Emiliano stated that the Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
Therefore, Emiliano called for an immediate suspension of all relations with all representatives of Israeli government.
Emiliano also urged “all managers and employees of the region, its agencies and participating companies to sever all relations of any kind with the institutional representatives of the Israeli government and with all those subjects attributable to it who are not openly and declaredly motivated by the desire to organize initiatives to stop the massacre of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip,” according to state-run ANSA news agency.
Since the beginning of Hamas-Israel War in Gaza in 2023, the Israeli strikes have killed more than 54,500 Palestinians and wounded more than 118,000, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
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