‘Free Palestine’: Italian Opposition Speaks Out as Apulia Severs Ties with Israel
X/Twitter By Palestine Chronicle Staff
Apulia cuts ties with Israel over Gaza genocide as Italian opposition calls for sanctions, recognition of Palestine, and an end to arms sales.
The governor of Italy’s southern Apulia region, Michele Emiliano, has announced the severing of all ties with the Israeli government, in protest against the genocide of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
“Due to the ongoing genocide of defenseless Palestinians by the Netanyahu government,” the regional administration stated, Governor Emiliano has instructed “all directors and employees of the Region, its agencies, and its publicly owned companies” to “terminate any kind of relationship with official representatives of the Netanyahu government and with all those linked to it who do not clearly and explicitly demonstrate a commitment to initiatives aimed at ending the massacre of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.”
Emiliano stressed that this is a position directed specifically at the Netanyahu government, not the Israeli people, noting that many Israelis and Jews around the world oppose this government and are calling for an end to the slaughter.
Meanwhile, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said last Wednesday that Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza “has become unacceptable” and must stop immediately.
Speaking during a tense debate in the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Tajani warned against any attempt to forcibly displace Palestinians from the Strip.
“We are calling on Israel to stop immediately. The bombings must end, humanitarian aid must resume as soon as possible, and international law must be respected,” Tajani said, emphasizing that “expelling Palestinians from Gaza is not and never will be an acceptable option.”
Opposition parties, however, have strongly condemned the Italian government’s stance on Gaza, demanding sanctions against Israel and formal recognition of the State of Palestine.
“Today we are not shouting or screaming. We whisper two words that you treat as subversive, but which in fact are words that anyone who believes in a more just world must start from: Free Palestine.”
“You waited to summon the Israeli ambassador until the Israeli army fired into the air as twenty European diplomats arrived. You were right to do so. But for 60,000 dead, was it not worth doing the same?”
Ricciardi went on to enumerate a list of urgent political actions that, he said, the government has repeatedly refused to take:
“What you must do politically, we’ve told you dozens of times: recognize the State of Palestine; recall our ambassador to Israel; officially acknowledge the International Criminal Court’s ruling on Netanyahu’s crimes; stop selling weapons to a genocidal government; sanction Israel; and on June 8, do not renew the military agreement with Israel.”
Although Italy has historically maintained strong ties with Israel, cracks are beginning to show—even within the ruling right-wing coalition—over the ongoing war in Gaza, which has sparked international outrage and mounting calls for accountability.
On Friday, the Spanish city of Barcelona joined Apulia in severing official ties with the Israeli government, announcing the suspension of its friendship agreement with Tel Aviv.
The Barcelona City Council voted to suspend all institutional relations with Israel “until international law is respected and the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people are guaranteed.”
Since October 7, 2023, Israel’s war on Gaza has left more than 177,000 Palestinians dead or wounded—most of them women and children—with over 14,000 still missing and hundreds of thousands forcibly displaced.
(PC, Italian Media)