Italians take to the streets for Gaza flotilla general strike

By Angelo Amante

ROME (Reuters) -Tens of thousands of Italians took to the streets across the country on Friday, as part of a day-long general strike called by unions in support of an aid flotilla carrying food to Gaza that was intercepted by Israel this week.

"After what I saw with the flotilla, I thought I couldn't just stand by and do nothing. It's the first time I go to these kind of demonstrations," Mario Mascetti, a protester in Rome, told Reuters.

The CGIL trade union planned demonstrations in more than 100 cities. In the capital, crowds marched from the central Piazza Vittorio towards the main train station, holding union and Palestinian flags, as well as banners.

The strike caused delays and cancellations across Italy's rail network, with more limited disruptions at airports. Metro lines continued operating in both Rome and Milan.

"This is not just any strike. We're here today to defend brotherhood among individuals, among peoples, to put humanity back at the centre, to say no to genocide, to a policy of rearmament," CGIL leader Maurizio Landini said.

Israel has called the aid flotilla a stunt and offered to take aid on the boats into Gaza. It has consistently denied allegations of genocide.

Italy's right-wing government has criticised the strike, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people skipping work for Gaza was just an excuse to have a longer weekend break.

Protests in solidarity with the humanitarian convoy that was trying to break Israel's naval blockade have sprung up all over Europe and other parts of the world, but have been particularly widespread in Italy.

Mattia Diletti, a sociologist at Rome's Sapienza University, said the Palestinian cause had always resonated in Italy, both amongst its majority-Catholic population and the left.

"Italy has always been a very political country, characterised by this element," he said.

The national strike watchdog said on Thursday unions had broken rules by not giving enough advance notice for the strike.

Pro-Palestinian protests were due to continue on Saturday, with a mass rally in Rome, capping off several days of demonstrations that have sometimes turned violent, with confrontations with police.

On Thursday night, tens of thousands of people marched peacefully from Rome's Colosseum, while in Turin a conference centre was vandalised and in Milan a statue outside the Duomo cathedral was daubed with red paint and graffiti.

(Writing by Alvise Armellini; Editing by Sharon Singleton)