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<a class="gmail-domain gmail-reader-domain" href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/dock-workers-strike-to-block-arms-shipments-to--israel--acro">english.almayadeen.net</a>
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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">Dock workers strike to block arms shipments to 'Israel' across Europe</h1>
<div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits">Al Mayadeen English</div>
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<div class="gmail-reader-estimated-time">February 8, 2026</div>
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<div class="gmail-moz-reader-content gmail-reader-show-element"><div id="gmail-readability-page-1" class="gmail-page"><p>Protests
at Italy\u2019s ports and coordinated actions across Europe highlight labor
resistance to military supply chains and growing opposition to the war
economy.</p><div><ul id="gmail-content-slick-0"><div aria-hidden="false"><li>
<a href="https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2026/2/8/3e53e3a0-c0f6-46d5-912c-44550aeb3352.jpeg?v=4&width=1000" tabindex="0"><img src="https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2026/2/8/3e53e3a0-c0f6-46d5-912c-44550aeb3352.jpeg?v=4&width=1000&preset=w800" alt="Dock workers strike to block arms shipments to 'Israel' across Europe" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img"></a>
Dockworkers in Civitavecchia, in support of Palestine, have
joined the international mobilisation against port labour linked to
war(@AndreaLucidi/X)
</li></div></ul>
<p>Hundreds of unionized dock workers gathered on Friday at the port of
Civitavecchia, roughly 60 kilometers northwest of Rome, to protest the <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/italian-fm-says-arms-to--israel--ceased-after-war-on-gaza-be" target="_blank" rel="noopener">increasing militarization of Italy\u2019s</a> strategic transport infrastructure.</p>
<p>The demonstration formed part of an international day of strike
action called by grassroots dock workers\u2019 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.</p>
<h2>Coordinated strikes target arms shipments to 'Israel'</h2>
<p>The mobilization comes ahead of <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/italian-port-workers-threaten-full-trade-halt-with--israel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a broader wave of strikes</a>
planned by Mediterranean dock workers, who say they aim to block the
flow of weapons to "Israel". Organizers accuse European governments of
\u201ccomplicity\u201d in "Israel\u2019s" genocide in Gaza and are demanding an
immediate halt to arms exports.</p>
<p>Representatives of Italy\u2019s USB union stressed that dock workers refuse to be enlisted in war efforts.</p>
<p>\u201cPort workers do not work for war,\u201d USB representatives said.</p>
<p>They warned that governments are attempting to force workers into
becoming accomplices in what they described as permanent war policies
imposed on the public.</p>
<p>\u201cIn 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,\u201d they said. \u201cWe say
no to that.\u201d</p>
<h2>\u2018We refuse to be accomplices\u2019</h2>
<p>Union leaders emphasized that <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/swedish-dockworkers-threaten-blockade-to-and-from--israel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dock workers are unwilling</a> to load weapons or military components destined for "Israel".</p>
<p>\u201cNeither dock workers intend to be an accomplice in the Israeli
genocide in Gaza by loading arms and components bound for Israel,\u201d said
Riccardo Petrarolo, a USB union dock worker.</p>
<p>Similar messages were echoed across Europe and the Mediterranean,
where coordinated strikes disrupted port activity in dozens of
locations.</p>
<h2>Solidarity with Palestine and labor resistance</h2>
<p>Activists linked the dock workers\u2019 <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/greek-dockworkers-block-ammunition-shipment-to--israel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">struggle directly to the Palestinian cause</a>, arguing that European governments rely on port labor to sustain military supply chains.</p>
<p>\u201cThe struggle of the Palestinians and that of dock workers are
intimately connected,\u201d said Matilde Spoletta of the Change Course Youth
Movement.</p>
<p>\u201cGovernments need dock workers to load their weapons on ships bound
for Israel. The boycott of military shipments must include all European
ports,\u201d Spoletta added.</p>
<h2>Disruptions spread across Mediterranean ports</h2>
<p>Union organizers reported that dock worker actions led to significant
disruptions, with several ports in Greece and Turkey remaining closed
following the strike.</p>
<p>In Italy, Israeli-linked vessels reportedly avoided docking in Genoa and Livorno.</p>
<p>\u201cI think they are starting to understand that without us dock
workers, they can't go anywhere,\u201d said Stefano De Angeles, a USB
unionist.</p>
<p>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\u2019 welfare across
Europe.</p>
<p>They also pointed to growing public anger in Italy over the
normalization of Israeli aggression, including backlash against Israeli
tourism linked to the war.</p>
<h2>\u2018This is not the end\u2019</h2>
<p>Dock workers emphasized that the February 6 international strike is only one stage in a longer campaign <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/from-protests-to-sanctions--europe-s-shift-away-from--israel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">against war and militarization</a>.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>\u201cThey have the power to shut down ports across Europe to deliver a
massive blow to imperialist-backed conflicts,\u201d organizers said,
insisting that ports must remain \u201cplaces of peace, free from any
involvement in wars.\u201d</p>
<h2>Solidarity rally in Paris backs Palestinians </h2>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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 \u201cdiscrimination and
oppression\u201d affecting those communities.</p>
<p>Those attending carried national flags and placards, including signs
reading \u201cBoycott Israel", while voicing support for the populations
named in the protest call.</p>
<p>Members of France\u2019s Yellow Vests movement were also present at the
rally. The demonstration took place under police supervision and
proceeded without reported incident.</p>
<p><strong>Read next: <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/australia-braces-for-pro-gaza-protests-against-israeli-presi" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Australia braces for rallies protesting Israeli president's visit</a></strong></p></div></div></div>
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