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A loud chorus of blaring horns and dockworkers shouting “we don’t want you” welcomed an Israeli-owned cargo vessel when it arrived in Livorno this week.

For two days, the striking port laborers stood their ground, declining to handle the ship’s cargo in a display of defiant solidarity for the people of Gaza and the Global Sumud flotilla attempting to deliver aid to Gaza. The protest was a triumph and the ship, bound for the US and Canada, left the port.

Countrywide Port Protests Spread

From Genoa, Trieste and Ravenna in the north, to Salerno and Taranto in the south, in recent weeks dock laborers throughout the country have succeeded in blocking ships suspected to be transporting weapons for Israel, as opposition to the conflict in Gaza grows stronger.

The dockers’ determination to prevent arms shipments and disrupt commerce has been a crucial component of the pro-Palestinian uprising in the nation as demands mounts on Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government to take a stronger stance against Israel.

“The Israeli military is conducting an extermination of civilians in Gaza – by killing them, by starving them,” said a dockworker, one protester. “We must not stay silent. We have always been a harbor of refuge, not one of conflict. We will continue protesting until this hostilities ends.”

National Walkout Adds Pressure

On the end of the week, many people demonstrated after Cgil called the second general strike in under 14 days, shutting educational institutions, disrupting transport and creating delays on public transport and in medical services. There were also spontaneous protests on midweek after Israeli forces intercepted the flotilla and detained numerous participants, including the prominent campaigner Greta Thunberg.

The incident in the Tuscan port was the first time an vessel from Israel transporting commercial goods had been blocked.

Popular Sentiment and Political Reaction

Latest polls show significant support among Italians – including a substantial share of voters of Meloni’s ruling coalition – for the establishment of a independent Palestine and in favor of the flotilla aid mission.

The Prime Minister has spoken against Israel’s killing of Palestinian people in recent months, describing it as a “excessive” response to Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attacks, and has expressed willingness to Italy recognising a sovereign Palestine, albeit with caveats. But she still attempts to maintain the delicate balance between being one of the strongest supporters of Israel in the EU and a ally of Arab nations, all the while following the line of the American leader, the former president.

Still, she is aware of voter sentiment, especially with Italy in the midst of several regional elections, and has attempted to use the demonstrations and aid mission to attack her leftwing opponents.

Meloni has characterized the convoy as “dangerous and irresponsible” and, despite the humanitarian mission involving many participants from various nations, she said it was only targeted at “causing difficulties” for her administration. She took a swipe at Friday’s general strike, claiming Italians of undertaking “a extended break masquerading as a revolution” while stating the strike was politically orchestrated and provided little help to Gaza.

“The Meloni government can only remain in power with someone to blame,” claimed a union leader, who leads the Livorno unit of the major trade union. “There is also a significant inconsistency between what the Prime Minister says and what she implements,” he continued. “She speaks of being a great patriot, a religious person and a parent, but she has not taken any political or diplomatic action to stop the killing of women and children.”

Government Standing Despite Protests

But despite the widespread popular feeling reflected by the wave of solidarity demonstrations, Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party continues to lead in surveys, at approximately thirty percent, and she has headed an uncharacteristically stable national administration since coming to power in late 2022.

“On one hand, there is the majority of public opinion in supporting Gaza which wants an cessation to the conflict,” explained Lorenzo Pregliasco, a founder of YouTrend. “But you won’t observe the effects of this when it comes to vote.”

Pregliasco referred to recent regional votes in the Marche region where Meloni’s coalition secured a second mandate. The same outcome is anticipated in votes in Veneto and Calabria.

Pregliasco said there was “a genuine danger of the pro-Palestinian activism having an overly strong of a partisan association, which would alienate people who are appalled with the war but who are not pro-Palestinian militants”.

Expert Insights

A political scientist at New York’s Columbia University and the University of Bologna, said the reason why the effects of the protests were not being seen in voting was because only around fifty percent of Italian voters go to the polls.

“And the ones who vote, vote for the right,” she added, noting that Meloni could readily leverage the unrest to disarm rivals.

She said any grassroots activism of citizens was susceptible to being infiltrated by antagonists, and suggested that this had been happening in order to “criminalise and repress” the Gaza movement.

Healthcare Community Participate

A cardiologist in Rome, has joined several demonstrations in the Italian capital and marched in the rally near a central square on the strike day.

“Last night, there was an event held in Italy’s hospitals during which we remembered the thousands of medics who died in Gaza while providing aid,” she said. “It was a deeply emotional occasion and we will keep organizing. You may not observe it in election surveys yet, but I think this administration is becoming very afraid of the people.”