Protests not approved
Chaotic scenes: Pro-Palestine demonstration in Rome escalates
October 5, 2024, 9:29 p.m
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Thousands gather in Rome to demonstrate for the Palestinian people. Chaotic scenes take place during the unauthorized protest: street signs, bottles and firecrackers fly. The police respond with tear gas. Things are more peaceful elsewhere.
At an unauthorized pro-Palestine demonstration in Rome, there were sometimes violent clashes between demonstrators and police officers. Several thousand people gathered in the center of the Italian capital two days before the anniversary of the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023. Masked and black-clad demonstrators threw bottles, firecrackers and traffic signs at the security forces. They responded with the use of tear gas and water cannons.
The demonstration was not approved by the Italian authorities because of security concerns. They also feared that the timing of the protest would “glorify” the October 7 Hamas terror attack. Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi emphasized ahead of the demonstration that security authorities in Italy were on high alert for possible terrorist attacks ahead of the anniversary.
Protests also in London
During a march not far from the Colosseum, the demonstrators held up banners, waved Palestinian flags and chanted, among other things, “Free Palestine” and “Free Lebanon.” On the sidelines of the demonstration, a participant shouted into a megaphone: “The revolution began on October 7th.” The area was heavily guarded and a helicopter flew over the zone.
Meanwhile, in London, tens of thousands of people took to the streets in a pro-Palestinian demonstration. They marched through the city center, as the British news agency PA reported. Photos showed people with Palestinian and Lebanese flags. There was also a smaller, pro-Israel counter-demonstration. By the afternoon, 15 people had been arrested, police said. Thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators also took to the streets in Edinburgh, Scotland. The organizers called for an immediate ceasefire and sanctions against Israel, the PA reported.
A year ago – on October 7, 2023 – terrorists from the Islamist Hamas and other extremist groups attacked Gaza from Israel. In the attacks over land, sea and air, they killed around 1,200 people and abducted around 240 to the Gaza Strip.