Workers and students across Italy joined an unprecedented general strike and mass demonstrations on Monday to demand an end to the genocide in Gaza and to cut ties with Israel.
On Monday, September 22, Italy will witness an unprecedented general strike and wave of demonstrations in support of Palestine and Gaza.
The nationwide mobilization, called by the Unione Sindacale di Base (USB), has been described by the union as a “flood sweeping across the country”. “Blocchiamo tutto” (“Let’s block everything”), the USB declared in a statement.
The strike involves workers from both public and private sectors, including essential services such as transport, education, waste management, and public administration.
Factories, logistics, commerce, energy, schools, and universities are also expected to join. Students have announced their participation, and significant disruption is anticipated in public transportation networks throughout the day.
Rail services may face cancellations and delays until 11 PM, affecting Frecce, Intercity, and regional trains, with guaranteed services only during the protected slots.
In Rome and Milan, metro, buses, and trams will run only during legal guarantee hours.
The mobilization, initially launched by the dockworkers of Genoa in response to the worsening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, has now spread across the entire country.
More than 80 rallies and demonstrations are planned, from the northern Valle d’Aosta to the southern island of Sicily, with the number of gatherings rising by the hour.
Organizers stress that this is one of the largest mobilizations in Italy’s modern history, a clear expression of outrage at the genocide in Gaza and at the complicity of Western governments, “Italy first among them.”
Mass rallies are expected in major cities, including Rome, Milan and Bologna.
In Genoa, Ancona, and other port cities, workers are preparing blockades. Demonstrations are also scheduled in Turin, Florence, Pisa, Perugia, Naples, Cagliari, Livorno, Pescara, Bergamo, Trento, and dozens of smaller towns across the country.
The demands are clear: to break ties with the Israeli state, to defend Gaza, to stop the genocide, to reject militarisation and the arms race, and to stand with the Global Sumud Flotilla currently sailing toward Gaza.
Source: Palestine Chronicle