The war in the Middle East has violent repercussions in several European countries, including Italy. Clashes broke out on Saturday in Rome between pro-Palestinian young people and the police, with bottle throwing, firecrackers, tear gas and the use of water cannons, after a demonstration bringing together thousands of people.
The anti-riot forces wanted to prevent the demonstrators from wandering around the Italian capital, the compromise reached having been to let the demonstration take place exclusively in the square where it was to begin. The clashes lasted around twenty minutes, a police officer was injured and two demonstrators arrested.
Violence at the end of the demonstration
The organizers had announced the end of the demonstration in which several thousand people had participated, when a few dozen young people, some with balaclavas, approached the police and began throwing stones and bottles, leading to a muscular reaction from the law enforcement.
“We want Gaza free”, “The revolution started on October 7”, “Italy must stop selling and sending weapons to Israel, we must immediately stop the genocide in Gaza”, “Free Palestine” and “ Israel, a criminal state,” the demonstrators shouted.
The sensitive date of October 7
The Rome police chief banned this pro-Palestinian demonstration two days before the first anniversary of the bloody conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, inviting the organizers to choose another date. The Israeli army launched a deadly offensive in response to the unprecedented October 7 attack and according to Hamas, at least 41,825 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have died since the start of the war.
Several demonstrations in memory of the approximately 1,205 people killed during the attack in Israel on October 7 are planned for Monday in Italy and Pope Francis called for this date for “a day of prayer and fasting for peace in the world”.
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