Italy’s unions call for general strike over Gaza flotilla

ROME – Italian unions have called a general strike for Friday in solidarity with the international aid flotilla for Gaza “Global Sumud Flotilla,” which was intercepted late last night by Israeli authorities.

Earlier on Wednesday, Maurizio Landini, leader of CGIL – Italy’s largest trade union – warned  that such an action would be “an act of war,” vowing that unions are ready to mobilise immediately if the flotilla is stopped, participants arrested or vessels seized.

The threat comes just two weeks after a nationwide strike that mobilised half a million people, disrupted trains and sparked clashes with police.

Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini accused “CGIL and far-left extremists” of trying to plunge Italy into “chaos.” Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, speaking on the sidelines of the unofficial EU summit in Copenhagen, urged restraint, saying that while alleviating Palestinian suffering should be a priority, flotilla organisers perhaps had other aims.

Rome and Athens jointly appealed to Israel to guarantee the flotilla’s safety, proposing to channel the aid via the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

(sma)