Anti-Israel demonstrations in Bologna descended into violent disorder on Friday night as masked rioters attacked police, set fires and erected barricades while protesting a EuroLeague match involving the Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv, reports The Jerusalem Post.
What began as a march of several thousand people from Piazza Maggiore under the slogan “Show Israel the Red Card: Let’s Block Everything!” quickly turned into a coordinated riot. Demonstrators tore down fencing and wooden planks from a construction site on Via Lame, using them as improvised weapons against officers. Firecrackers, flares, glass bottles and clubs were hurled at police, who had deployed almost 400 officers to secure the area.
Rioters split into smaller groups and repeatedly confronted police lines. In one incident, they built a burning barricade from overturned bins and construction barriers. Police were forced to use tear gas and water cannon to push the crowds back. Eight officers sustained injuries in the clashes. Although no immediate arrests were made, authorities later identified fifteen individuals whom the Special Operations Unit will investigate further.
The violence capped a week of escalating agitation against the Virtus Bologna vs Maccabi Tel Aviv match, which some activists demanded should be postponed or moved. Bologna’s mayor, Matteo Lepore, suggested relocating the game outside the city, but Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi dismissed the proposal, insisting the government would ensure the match proceeded safely, even with heightened security.
The protest had been heavily promoted online, with posts expressing solidarity with Gaza alongside increasingly aggressive anti-Israel rhetoric. The atmosphere of hostility towards Israel and its citizens helped fuel the violence on the ground, where what began as a political demonstration tipped into open aggression and attacks on law enforcement.
Photo credit: REUTERS/GUGLIELMO MANGIAPANE)
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