Pro-Palestine activists in Italy target arms supplies for Israel’s Gaza genocide

Pro-Palestinian campaigners have launched a new initiative at the port of Gioia Tauro in southern Italy aimed at disrupting military supplies linked to the United States and its allies involved in Israel’s war on Gaza.

The campaign, dubbed “Global Intifada Disarm,” was launched during a maritime and land demonstration at the port on Tuesday.

The maritime component began a day earlier, when vessels departed from the nearby port of Cetraro and sailed toward Gioia Tauro.

Organizers described the protest as part of a broader mobilization that combines opposition to the war in Gaza with demands for greater transparency regarding the movement of military and dual-use goods through Italian infrastructure.

Activists carried placards and banners reading, “No to the war supply chain – let's stop the war of genocide.”

“We are maintaining a presence at the port of Gioia Tauro to denounce the collaboration of the Italian government, institutions and multinational corporations, particularly MSC [Mediterranean Shipping Company], in the genocide of the Palestinian people,” said Antonio Viteritti of La Base Cosenza, speaking from the Global Intifada boat.

He said 16 containers carrying dual-use ballistic steel, which can be used in missile production, were currently being held at the port.

“For months we have been reporting the presence of this material, yet we have received no response regarding a definitive halt from the authorities,” he said.

“We also recall that two shipments of weapons destined for Israel were seized in this port one year ago.”

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Two days before the mobilisation, the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Italy campaign informed trade unions and local networks that the container vessel MSC Manasvi was expected to arrive in Gioia Tauro to load eight containers that had previously come under scrutiny.

According to activists on board, the vessel remained offshore for several hours before turning back to sea without taking on the containers.

The incident added to concerns raised by campaign groups over the movement of military-related and dual-use cargo through the Calabrian port.

Earlier this year, the No Harbour for Genocide campaign, supported by BDS Italy, raised concerns about a shipment of ballistic steel originating in India and transported aboard vessels operated by MSC.

Following those reports, Italy’s Finance Police and Customs Agency inspected eight containers at the port on March 18.

After the inspections, Five Star Movement lawmaker Stefania Ascari submitted a parliamentary question seeking government clarification regarding the shipment and the controls carried out at the port.

“It was important to keep the spotlight on Gioia Tauro because media attention and public pressure are what prevent these containers from being moved quietly to Israel months later, at night, without anyone knowing—as may have happened in the past without our awareness,” said Peppe Marra, regional secretary of the USB, an Italian trade union in Calabria.

Organizers also described a growing convergence between labor struggles and pro-Palestinian mobilization across different sectors of society.

“The Mediterranean is not Israel’s, it is ours. It belongs to all those communities in the Global South that struggle every day for dignified work, quality healthcare, safe territories that are increasingly affected by climate change, and above all for a world free from war,” said Roberto Panza of La Base Cosenza, speaking aboard one of the vessels.

The May 29 strike formed part of a broader wave of mobilization in Italy since the start of the genocide in Gaza and the departure of the Global Sumud Flotilla last autumn.

In recent months, demonstrations, university occupations, dockworkers’ actions, and solidarity initiatives have taken place across Italy in opposition to Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

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