CHAOS erupted in Milan as pro-Palestine protesters smashed their way into the city’s iconic central train station.
Angry mobs hurled chairs and metal railings at riot police in violent clashes that left 60 officers injured.
Protesters clash with anti-riot police at Milano Centrale train station[/caption]
Protesters try to break the windows at the entrance of a shopping area at Milano Centrale train station[/caption]
Protesters and policemen clash at Milan’s Central Station during a protest as part of the nationwide strike with the slogan ‘Let’s Block Everything’ in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza[/caption]
Protesters enter Central Station during clashes with police[/caption]
The grand marble atrium of Milano Centrale last night turned into a battleground as demonstrators waving Palestinian flags tore down barriers, rammed glass doors with metal ladders and faced off against lines of police in helmets and shields.
Tear gas filled the air as officers struggled to push back the surging crowd.
At least 10 people were arrested in the financial capital, where stunned commuters watched running street battles unfold outside one of Europe’s busiest railway hubs.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni slammed the violence, fuming: “(This was) violence and destruction that have nothing to do with solidarity and will not change the lives of people in Gaza by a fraction.
“But will have concrete consequences for Italian citizens who will end up suffering and paying for the damage caused by these hooligans.”
The mayhem was part of a nationwide strike that paralysed schools, ports, transport and public services.
From Turin to Palermo, tens of thousands took to the streets in solidarity with Palestinians under siege in Gaza.
In Rome, some 30,000 people massed outside Termini station, blocking traffic on the city’s ring road and delaying trains by more than an hour.
And in Naples, protesters forced their way onto railway tracks, while in Pisa, they barricaded a main road to Florence.
Dockworkers downed tools in Genoa, Livorno, Trieste and Venice – where police blasted crowds with water cannon.
“The Palestinian people continue to give us yet another lesson in dignity and resistance,” said Ricky, a Genoa protester from the Autonomous Port Workers’ Collective.
“We learn from them and try to do our part.”
In Milan, flags of Israel, the US, the EU and NATO were torched outside the American consulate as chants echoed through the city centre.
The Italian unrest comes amid growing international rifts over the war in Gaza.
Just hours earlier, Hamas hailed Britain’s dramatic recognition of a Palestinian state as a “victory for the justice of our cause.”
Protesters enter Central Station during clashes with police after the strike march in support of Palestine, in Milan, Italy[/caption]
Protesters damage Milan’s Central Station during clashes with police[/caption]
Protesters vandalise the station with ‘Free Gaza’ messages[/caption]
Sir Keir Starmer declared the shift a pledge to “keep alive the possibility of peace and a two-state solution”.
The UK has now joined more than 150 nations, including Canada, Australia and Portugal, in recognising Palestine.
French President Emmanuel Macron has also recognised Palestine during a UN speech, matching Sir Keir Starmer’s move just a day later.
Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu blasted the move as “a reward for terrorism” after Hamas’s October 7 atrocities in which 1,200 people were murdered and hundreds taken hostage.
Donald Trump echoed his fury, warning such recognition “rewards Hamas.”
The violent clashes saw 60 officers injured[/caption]
People take a part during the General Strike For Palestine in Turin, Italy[/caption]
Thousands of workers and students took to the streets of Rome in pro-Palestine protests[/caption]
But Sir Keir insisted the decision was “not a reward for Hamas,” branding the group a “brutal terror” organisation with “no future” in Gaza’s governance.
As Italy counts the cost of smashed glass, blocked ports and battered police, Meloni’s right-wing government is standing firm as one of Israel’s staunchest allies in Europe – refusing to follow the UK’s lead.
With tensions surging across the continent and Gaza’s humanitarian crisis worsening, last night’s street violence in Milan may prove a taste of more unrest to come.
What does recognising Palestine mean?
BRITAIN’S recognition means that the UK government diplomatically acknowledges Palestine as a country.
The UK had already vowed to recognise a Palestinian state as part of a broader peace process with Israel, but it was long unclear when this might happen.
It does not mean that the UK no longer recognises Israel, with which Britain has had official diplomatic relations since the 1950s.
But Palestine now joins the list of nations formally recognised by Britain, meaning its chief envoy will now have the rank of ambassador.
The conflict between Israel and Palestine stretches back many decades, and it is still unclear what the borders of a Palestinian state would look like.
The West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem are frequently described as occupied Palestinian territories.
But Israel de facto controls much of this land, and has built substantial settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Control of Palestinian territory is divided, with Hamas solely ruling over the Gaza Strip.
