DaysofPal- Italy’s Ravenna port on the Adriatic Sea has blocked the entry of two trucks reportedly carrying explosives destined for the Israeli port of Haifa, amid rising protests from dockworkers and labor groups against the war in Gaza.
Ravenna Mayor Alessandro Barattoni, a center-left politician, confirmed that the port authority accepted a joint request from him and the local government to deny the trucks access.
“The Italian state says it has banned the sale of weapons to the Israeli occupation, but it is unacceptable that such arms pass through Italy from other countries because of bureaucratic loopholes,” Barattoni said in a statement.
The move follows similar actions by dockworkers in France, Sweden, and Greece, who have mobilized to block weapons shipments to the Israeli occupation.
Italy’s largest trade union, CGIL, has called for a national day of action on Friday, denouncing Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza.
Union leader Maurizio Landini urged European governments to suspend all trade and military agreements with the Israeli occupation until it ends its genocidal war against civilians in Gaza, announcing strikes and demonstrations across the country.
Essential public services such as schools, transport, and healthcare will remain unaffected due to the short notice.
Earlier this month, dockworkers at Genoa port threatened to impose a full blockade on goods bound for the Israeli occupation if contact was lost with ships in the “Freedom Flotilla” attempting to break the Gaza blockade.
They said the humanitarian convoy’s mission was to deliver urgently needed aid to civilians under bombardment.
Reports indicate that Genoa handles 13,000 to 14,000 containers annually for the Israeli occupation.
Unions have warned that no shipments will depart until the flotilla’s safety is guaranteed, even raising the prospect of launching an international strike and road blockades in solidarity.
In June, Genoa dockworkers staged a sit-in backed by the USB union, vowing not to load weapons onto Israeli vessels, a stance described by the Italian newspaper Il Manifesto as a “peaceful embargo against the massacres in Gaza.”
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