Reuters

MILAN: Authorities in the northern Italian city of Bologna have banned a pro-Palestinian demonstration planned for Tuesday, citing the risk of unrest, following days of protests and clashes with police across Italy, a local representative of the Interior Minister said. The Giovani Palestinesi (Palestinian Youth) Italia group had scheduled demonstrations in the cities of Bologna and Turin to mark the second anniversary of a Hamas militant attack in Israel that killed 1,200 people. &quot;The demonstration will be absolutely prohibited,&quot; Enrico Ricci, the local prefect in Bologna, told reporters, as local authorities fear possible clashes after violence flared in Rome at the weekend. Giovani Palestinesi confirmed on Instagram that they planned to try to press ahead with a gathering despite the ban. Israel&#39;s ambassador to Italy, Jonathan Peled, had protested against initiatives &quot;that seek to glorify the October 7 massacre and successfully worked with Italian authorities to cancel the event,&quot; Israel Foreign Ministry said on X. Hundreds of thousands of people marched through central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists. The Jewish community in Milan has opted for a low-profile commemoration of the anniversary of the Hamas attack. &quot;We will be in a city square, protected by law enforcement. We will meet among ourselves, but for public order reasons, police have forbidden us from announcing the location,&quot; Davide Romano, director of the Jewish Brigade Museum, was quoted as saying by daily la Repubblica.

Healthcare workers take part in a pro-Palestinian vigil as part of the nationwide "Lights on Palestine" initiative, commemorating 1,677 Palestinian medical staff killed in Gaza over the past two years, in Rome, Italy October 2, 2025. (Reuters)

Europe

Italy banned a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Bologna over unrest fears after violent protests, with groups planning to proceed despite the ban amid rising tensions.

Italy bans pro-Palestinian October 7 demonstration in Bologna as tensions rise

ROME: More than 2 million people across Italy rallied in over 100 cities Friday for a one-day general strike to support the residents of Gaza and a humanitarian aid mission, Italy&rsquo;s largest union said.&nbsp;Italian unions proclaimed the strike after the Global Sumud Flotilla that was trying to break Israel&rsquo;s naval blockade to deliver aid to Gaza was intercepted by Israeli naval forces on Wednesday night. Protests and demonstrations have sprung up all over Europe and globally since then, but they have been particularly strong in Italy.&nbsp;Italy&rsquo;s conservative Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had sharply criticized the strike. She anticipated it would cause widespread disruption across the country and said it was politically motivated and targeted her right-wing government.&nbsp;According to the CGIL union, 300,000 people marched through the streets of Rome alone, while the national average participation in the general strike stood at around 60%, halting all the main services in key sectors, including transportation and schools.&nbsp;<img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/b46b9a17-2f63-4d56-b07e-e8eb9f9eece4.jpg" style="width: 1000px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"> In Florence, protesters approached the gates of the Italian national soccer team&rsquo;s training center to demand its upcoming World Cup qualifier against Israel not be played because of the war in Gaza.&nbsp;Italy is scheduled to host Israel in Udine on Oct. 14. But UEFA is considering suspending Israel over the war. The players were not at the Coverciano training center in Florence, but the squad will convene there on Monday.&nbsp;Protesters appeared to behave peacefully on the opposite side of the street from the soccer complex, holding aloft a banner that read in Italian, &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s stop Zionism with the resistance.&rdquo; <img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/6c054fec-d218-4378-8af2-a406394ed4ac.jpg" style="width: 1000px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"> On Friday morning, around 100,000 people participated in a rally in the northern city of Milan. Clashes there briefly erupted after a group of protesters blocking the city&rsquo;s highway started throwing bottles at police, who responded with smoke bombs.&nbsp;Isolated scuffles also happened in Turin, Bologna and Naples, but the majority of the protests were peaceful.&nbsp;&ldquo;I still believe that all this brings no benefit to the Palestinian people. On the other hand, I understand that it will cause a lot of problems for the Italian people,&quot; Meloni told reporters Thursday, condemning the strike. &ldquo;Revolutions and long weekends don&rsquo;t go well together.&rdquo;&nbsp;The Italian leader has been facing mounting pressure to change Italy&rsquo;s stance as a longtime supporter of Israel in the Gaza conflict, as growing calls have emerged to stop the massive humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza.

Pro Palestine protests in Italy, Gaza protests in Italy, Global Sumud Flotilla

Italian unions proclaim the strike after the Global Sumud Flotilla that was trying to break Israel’s naval blockade to deliver aid to Gaza was intercepted by Israeli naval forces on Wednesday night.

Articles tagged with "protests in Italy over Gaza"

Italy bans pro-Palestinian October 7 demonstration in Bologna as tensions rise

2 million rally in Italy for Gaza as general strike halts key services