[News] Dock workers strike to block arms shipments to 'Israel' across Europe

[Anti-Imperialist News]

english.almayadeen.net
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/dock-workers-strike-to-block-arms-shipments-to--israel--acro>
Dock workers strike to block arms shipments to 'Israel' across Europe
Al Mayadeen English
February 8, 2026
------------------------------

Protests at Italy’s ports and coordinated actions across Europe highlight
labor resistance to military supply chains and growing opposition to the
war economy.

   - [image: Dock workers strike to block arms shipments to 'Israel' across
   Europe]
   <https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2026/2/8/3e53e3a0-c0f6-46d5-912c-44550aeb3352.jpeg?v=4&width=1000>
   Dockworkers in Civitavecchia, in support of Palestine, have joined the
   international mobilisation against port labour linked to
   war(@AndreaLucidi/X)

Hundreds of unionized dock workers gathered on Friday at the port of
Civitavecchia, roughly 60 kilometers northwest of Rome, to protest the
increasing
militarization of Italy’s
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/italian-fm-says-arms-to--israel--ceased-after-war-on-gaza-be>
strategic transport infrastructure.

The demonstration formed part of an international day of strike action
called by grassroots dock workers’ unions. Workers from ports in Greece,
the Basque Country, Morocco, and Turkey joined the protest, with
coordinated industrial action taking place in more than 20 ports across the
Mediterranean and Europe.
Coordinated strikes target arms shipments to 'Israel'

The mobilization comes ahead of a broader wave of strikes
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/italian-port-workers-threaten-full-trade-halt-with--israel>
planned by Mediterranean dock workers, who say they aim to block the flow
of weapons to "Israel". Organizers accuse European governments of
“complicity” in "Israel’s" genocide in Gaza and are demanding an immediate
halt to arms exports.

Representatives of Italy’s USB union stressed that dock workers refuse to
be enlisted in war efforts.

“Port workers do not work for war,” USB representatives said.

They warned that governments are attempting to force workers into becoming
accomplices in what they described as permanent war policies imposed on the
public.

“In actual fact, governments intend to force dock workers to become
accomplices in the permanent war policies they're imposing on the general
population when there are no enemies around,” they said. “We say no to
that.”
‘We refuse to be accomplices’

Union leaders emphasized that dock workers are unwilling
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/swedish-dockworkers-threaten-blockade-to-and-from--israel>
to load weapons or military components destined for "Israel".

“Neither dock workers intend to be an accomplice in the Israeli genocide in
Gaza by loading arms and components bound for Israel,” said Riccardo
Petrarolo, a USB union dock worker.

Similar messages were echoed across Europe and the Mediterranean, where
coordinated strikes disrupted port activity in dozens of locations.
Solidarity with Palestine and labor resistance

Activists linked the dock workers’ struggle directly to the Palestinian
cause
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/greek-dockworkers-block-ammunition-shipment-to--israel>,
arguing that European governments rely on port labor to sustain military
supply chains.

“The struggle of the Palestinians and that of dock workers are intimately
connected,” said Matilde Spoletta of the Change Course Youth Movement.

“Governments need dock workers to load their weapons on ships bound for
Israel. The boycott of military shipments must include all European ports,”
Spoletta added.
Disruptions spread across Mediterranean ports

Union organizers reported that dock worker actions led to significant
disruptions, with several ports in Greece and Turkey remaining closed
following the strike.

In Italy, Israeli-linked vessels reportedly avoided docking in Genoa and
Livorno.

“I think they are starting to understand that without us dock workers, they
can't go anywhere,” said Stefano De Angeles, a USB unionist.

Beyond Gaza, union representatives raised broader concerns about the impact
of a war-driven economy on labor rights and social protections, warning
that prolonged militarization threatens workers’ welfare across Europe.

They also pointed to growing public anger in Italy over the normalization
of Israeli aggression, including backlash against Israeli tourism linked to
the war.
‘This is not the end’

Dock workers emphasized that the February 6 international strike is only
one stage in a longer campaign against war and militarization
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/from-protests-to-sanctions--europe-s-shift-away-from--israel>
.

They warned that workers retain the capacity to shut down ports across
Europe, framing their struggle as an effort to reclaim ports as civilian
spaces.

“They have the power to shut down ports across Europe to deliver a massive
blow to imperialist-backed conflicts,” organizers said, insisting that
ports must remain “places of peace, free from any involvement in wars.”
Solidarity rally in Paris backs Palestinians

Separately, hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Paris on Saturday to
express solidarity with Palestinians and with communities in Haiti,
Venezuela, New Caledonia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Sudan.

The rally followed appeals from several associations, with participants
assembling at Place de la Nation. Protesters said they were mobilizing
against what they described as “discrimination and oppression” affecting
those communities.

Those attending carried national flags and placards, including signs
reading “Boycott Israel", while voicing support for the populations named
in the protest call.

Members of France’s Yellow Vests movement were also present at the rally.
The demonstration took place under police supervision and proceeded without
reported incident.

*Read next: Australia braces for rallies protesting Israeli president's
visit
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/australia-braces-for-pro-gaza-protests-against-israeli-presi>*
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://freedomarchives.org/pipermail/news_freedomarchives.org/attachments/20260208/883ae87e/attachment.htm>