Italian unions 'will block everything' in response to Israeli flotilla interception
میدل-ایست-آی - 1404-07-10 20:08:57
Italian unions 'will block everything' in response to Israeli flotilla interception
Two major Italian unions have declared a nationwide strike following illegal Israeli interceptions of the Global Sumud Flotilla, as protests erupted across the country on Wednesday night.
One of Italy’s largest unions, Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro (CGIL), along with the grassroots Unione Sindicale di Base (USB), had previously pledged to halt work and “block everything” in the event of an attack on the flotilla.
Late on Wednesday, the Israeli navy began illegally intercepting flotilla vessels as they neared Gaza, detaining activists and taking them to the Israeli port of Ashdod.
According to Italy's foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, 40 Italian nationals have been detained, including two Italian members of parliament and two Italian members of the European parliament.
"Obviously we will do everything we can to ensure these people can return to Italy as soon as possible," Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told reporters at a European Union meeting in Denmark.
But she added: "I continue to believe that all this brings no benefit to the Palestinian people."
In a statement on X, USB announced “now is the time to block everything”, calling for mobilisations in “all squares” on Friday.
"The aggression against civilian ships carrying Italian citizens is an extremely serious matter," CGIL said in a statement.
“It is not only a crime against defenceless people, but it is also serious that the Italian government has abandoned Italian workers in open international waters, violating our constitutional principles.”
Francesco Staccioli, of USB’s confederal executive, told Middle East Eye that unlike a previous strike in solidarity with the flotilla on 22 September, Friday’s work stoppage would go ahead without respecting the minimum notice period of 10 days, which is required under Italian law.
“We didn’t respect the notice period as this is too urgent,” Staccioli said, adding that CGIL’s decision to follow suit is unprecedented.
Following Israel's interception, protests flared across Italian cities. In Naples, protesters burst into the main railway station and blocked the tracks, wielding flares and Palestinian flags.
In the capital, Rome, around 100,000 people marched towards Termini train station, which police had cordoned off. In Bologna, footage showed students clashing with police outside the university.
The flotilla was the trigger
Friday’s work stoppage follows a previous general strike in support of the flotilla on 22 September, in response to a series of Israeli drone strikes targeting the boats.
Some half a million people took to the streets across 75 cities. Schools were closed and roads and ports blockaded under the slogan “Blocchiamo tutto” ("We will block everything").
But the spark was lit earlier in Genoa, one of Europe’s busiest ports, where dockworkers vowed to block all Israeli shipments in the event of an attack on the flotilla.
At the end of July, Genoa’s Autonomous Port Workers’ Collective (CALP), along with other trade unions and local community groups, amassed 300 tonnes of aid. On 30 August, a crowd of some 40,000 people joined a procession carrying the aid to vessels bound for Gaza.
In a speech that went viral on social media, CALP member Riccardo Rudino addressed crowds in front of the port gates, pledging to “shut down all of Europe” if contact with the boats was lost.
Genoa’s dock workers have a long history of international solidarity. In 2019 they refused to load a Saudi Arabian ship bound for the Saudi National Guard over its war in Yemen.
Since Israel launched its onslaught on Gaza in October 2023, the Genoese workers have regularly staged protests and sit-ins in solidarity with Palestinians.
In July this year, dock workers at Genoa and La Spezia barred the entry of Cosco Shipping Pisces, which was reportedly carrying military equipment from Singapore to Israel.
'We could not remain silent any more. We could not just keep doing our job with indifference'
– Cristiano, dock worker in Livorno
In recent weeks port workers across the country - including at Livorno, La Spezia, Venice, Ravenna, Salerno and Taranto - have followed suit, barring ships bound for Israel from docking.
On Wednesday, hundreds of dock workers in the port of Livorno refused to unload an Israeli-flagged ship, the Zim Virginia, forcing it to change course.
Activists told MEE that the ship then switched off its transponder and headed to La Spezia, where protesters also blocked it from docking.
According to Livorno’s dock workers, this is the fourth ship they have stopped from entering the port. On 23 September, the US-flagged SNC Severn, which was reportedly carrying military equipment from Israel to a US military base between Pisa and Livorno, was stranded off shore and unable to dock at the port.
“At this crucial moment, we will do everything in our power to block any ship connected with Israel from docking at our ports,” Cristiano, a member of Gruppo Autonomo Portuali a Livorno, an anti-fascist collective of dock workers, told MEE.
“We are refusing to facilitate any kind of business transaction with Israel,” he said, pointing out that this included ships that aren't carrying military equipment.
Cristiano said he had not previously been seriously involved in Palestine solidarity activism, but felt compelled to take direct action by the scale of Israel’s genocide.
“As workers, we understand that we are loading and unloading Israeli products and weapons from these ships,” he said. “So we could not remain silent any more, we could not just keep doing our job with indifference.
“Dock workers have always had an understanding of who they’re working with and who they’re working for,” he said.
Adele, a local activist who is organising with the dock workers, told MEE: “They realised that they could actually do something because they are the ones that work on the ships and can collectively decide to not be complicit by simply refusing to do our jobs.
“I’ve never seen these people at protests, but here they are sending away two ships,” she said.
‘Something has shifted’
While thousands took to the streets in September, Staccioli said even larger numbers are expected to turn out on Friday, estimating that around half of Italian workers are likely to participate in the protest, although other major unions are not involved in the work stoppage.
According to Staccioli, the recent mobilisations mark a significant shift in the Italian Palestine solidarity movement. He said that he had been approached by workers who were not previously engaged in the cause.
“For two years, the Italian Palestine solidarity movement has been very weak. You would generally get people from leftwing movements attending marches. But this time, something deep within Italian society has shifted,” Staccioli said.
“Normal people are starting to participate, they are very angry about what is happening in Gaza, and angry with their government for not doing more to help."
The scale of the recent mobilisations has taken Staccioli by surprise. “We are used to watching people mobilise abroad. Now, this is the first time that I feel they are watching us.”
