Civil groups, including port workers in Italy, have announced that they will close several ports if Israel intervenes and seizes the boats of the Global Sumud Flotilla aiming to break the blockade on Gaza.
According to ANSA on Tuesday, workers at the port of Genoa supporting the flotilla said in a statement that they would not let even a nail depart from it if the flotilla is halted.
Israel to prevent Freedom Flotilla ship from approaching Gaza
The statement came in response to remarks by Israel’s far-right national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who said that the boats in the flotilla will be seized, and the people on board will be detained and treated like terrorism suspects.
In a similar move, workers at the port of Venice also issued a statement confirming that if the flotilla is intercepted, measures would be taken to shut down the port, the agency reported.
On Sunday, around 20 vessels set sail as part of the flotilla from Barcelona in Spain, followed by another convoy that departed early Monday from Genoa in north-western Italy.
The ships are expected to meet another convoy scheduled to leave Tunisia, before continuing their journey towards Gaza in the coming days.
Middle East Monitor / ABC Flash Point Mews 2025.
It’s an amazing display of people power, but occurring not just in one nation, but connecting different peoples from around the globe, on the boats and at the ports where they will dock. Hearts and minds from everywhere are with them.
Maersk is the largest shipping operation in the world, and they dock at several Italian ports. As they supply Israel, and were named in the UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese’s report in July on corporations that profit from the genocide,
From the Economy of Occupation to the Economy of Genocide”. I would love to see the dock workers shut them down if the Israelis stop the flotilla. This is the kind of economic pressure point that could work!