Pro-Palestine marches in 50 cities, and some are hailing October 7

Thousands took to the streets in more than fifty Italian cities to demonstrate in favor of Palestine and to demand "the end of the genocide." From Turin to Milan, from Rome to Naples, the marches paraded peacefully, with moments of tension with law enforcement recorded in Turin. Several banners celebrating October 7 appeared, three days after the anniversary of Hamas's 2023 attack on Israeli territory, the 'al-Aqsa Flood' operation. Pro-Pal, hundreds in Bologna 'against Zionism' and homophobic attacks Palestinian organizations in Italy and numerous student movements, antagonists and associations marched in Rome from the Colosseum to La Sapienza University. At the head of the march — made up of several thousand people — was a banner reading "The end of the genocide is the end of Zionism." Immediately behind it, another with the phrase "October 7, day of Resistance." In addition to dozens of Palestinian flags, some Hezbollah flags were also spotted among the demonstrators. In Turin, around 8,000 people attended the demonstration called by the city coordination for Gaza, which saw the participation of more than sixty organizations including movements, collectives, political forces and trade unions. Moments of tension occurred when the head of the march approached the cordon of law enforcement in Piazza Castello, with shoving, punches and kicks. The action was first repelled with a few baton strikes, then the tension was defused by partially allowing nearly a thousand demonstrators into the square. At the end of the event, two effigies of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu were set on fire. Video Greta Thunberg joins the march for Gaza in Naples "For us, October 7 represents a day of resistance," said Sara, one of the spokespersons of the Turin coordination for Gaza. Words that Piedmont FdI regional councilor Alessandra Binzoni commented on, stating that "once again, the streets of our city were the stage for a demonstration in which, behind the facade of solidarity with the Palestinian people — she says — there was a deliberate choice to legitimize hatred, violence and the justification of terrorism. Celebrating the brutal massacre of October 7 is unacceptable." Pro-Pal chant in the square: 'Turn the spotlight back on Palestine' Opening the Milan demonstration was a banner reading "From the river to the sea Palestine will be free. Against the genocide, the war, Zionism and every complicity. Free Palestine from the river to the sea." "After three years of genocide in Gaza, the Palestinian people continue to suffer massacres. Despite the decline in media attention and the narratives of pacification, the oppression has not stopped. It is our duty to bring the Palestinian struggle back to the center of political and popular debate in Italy," said the organizers. Among the signs displayed was also one with the phrase "October 7 like April 25. Fascists and Zionists hanged." Greta Thunberg was also in the square in Naples. The Swedish activist joined the demonstrators in the area around the railway station, walking through the square with them and briefly chatting with some of those present. "My message to young people is not to be afraid of being angry; you need to channel your anger and your disappointment and use that anger to take back what rightfully belongs to the new generations," she said during a press conference. Pro-Pal in Turin, Trump and Netanyahu in flames 'we put them on trial' Banners with the slogan "No more complicity with the genocide" then in Bologna, where signs appeared with the caricature of Trump and Netanyahu and the writing "Murderers," along with many Palestinian flags. Chanting the slogans "Intifada until victory," "we need more classrooms and not more bombs" and "we won't enlist," the collectives that joined the demonstration called by the Young Palestinians of Bologna converged in Piazza Nettuno, to protest "against Zionism" and for "the end of the genocide in Gaza." Video Pro-Pal in the square in Bologna, the Palestinian flag hung on a slackline All rights reserved © Copyright ANSA