Italy – 4 OCTOBER, ROME: ONE MILLION IN THE SQUARE FOR PALESTINE

We hereby share an unofficial translation of a report published by Per la Democrazia Popolare on the recent mass mobilizations for Palestine.

The day after the general strike on Friday 3 October, which saw two million workers and young people take to the streets in over a hundred demonstrations, the long demonstration in Rome completely filled Piazza San Giovanni. On 3 October, there were clashes with the police and several arrests, while during Saturday’s national demonstration there was heavy intimidation and several buses carrying demonstrators were blocked on the motorways. The various political and trade union forces that contributed to the success of these huge initiatives are obviously characterised by different positions and intentions. The CGIL trade union linked to the PD and representatives of this party, as well as the M5S [Five Star Movement] and AVS [Green-Left Alliance], participated with the aim of positioning themselves as a political reference point, in apparent opposition to the Meloni government in office, for the large movement supporting the resistance of the Palestinian people. This intention is characterised by electoral aims, accompanied by the political will to pacify and channel the mass movement that has arisen in Italy and thus also to contribute to the diplomatic and hegemonic manoeuvres that accompany today’s war against the Palestinian people and aim to disarm their resistance. On both 3 and 4 October, thousands of leaflets were distributed by the Per La Democrazia Popolare collectives in Rome and various other Italian cities, and on the 4th, a small internationalist contingent formed behind a banner of the International Anti-Imperialist League and chanted slogans against the fascist government and in support of Palestine and the revolutions of oppressed peoples.