The Italian Adriatic port of Ravenna on Thursday refused entry to two trucks said to be carrying arms to Israel, as protests mount among Italian dockworkers and other labor groups against the offensive in Gaza.
The center-left mayor of Ravenna, Alessandro Barattoni, told reporters the port authority had accepted the request from him and the regional government to deny access to the lorries carrying explosives en route to the Israeli port of Haifa.
"The Italian state says it has blocked the sale of arms to Israel but it is unacceptable that, thank to bureaucratic loopholes, they can pass through Italy from other countries," Barattoni said in a statement.
He did not provide details on where the containers had come from or provide evidence of their contents.
Similar actions to block arms shipments to Israel have been taken by dockworkers in other European countries, such as France, Sweden, and Greece.
Ravenna's decision reflects growing mobilization in Italy against Israel's assault and in support of an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to the Palestinians.
A spokesperson from the Israeli embassy in Rome stated that they did not have sufficiently detailed information about the case and therefore declined to comment. Israel's government sometimes accuses European nations of bias against it and swallowing Hamas propaganda.
Trade unions strike to pressure gov't to end agreements with Israel, recognize Palestine
On Friday, Italy's largest trade union body, the CGIL, will hold a national half-day strike and marches in Rome and other cities, while on September 22, two other unions will halt work and try to block activity in the large ports of Genoa and Livorno.
"We won't let a single pin through the port," said Riccardo Rudino from the Calp dockers' union in Genoa.
The CGIL said its protests were aimed at generating pressure on Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government "to suspend all commercial and military cooperation agreements with Israel, lift the humanitarian embargo, and recognize the State of Palestine."
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Thursday Italy would support EU sanctions against violent Israeli settlers and Israeli ministers who have made "unacceptable" comments on Gaza and the West Bank, and was open to considering trade sanctions.