Last Friday was a historic day for democracy and international justice. The signatures necessary for the filing of the popular initiative law on the “Recognition of the State of Palestine by Italy” have been delivered to the Senate of the Republic. The objective of 50,000 subscriptions on the national territory was widely exceeded, demonstrating the Italian people’s opposition to any war and their solidarity with the Palestinians.
The note from “Schierarsi Agrigento” reads: “No one today can ignore the fact that Giorgia Meloni, despite the unanimous international condemnation of the ruthless policies of Netanyahu’s far-right government, continues to show her support and send weapons to Israel, thus making our country an accomplice to the greatest genocide of the last century. According to recent data, almost 20,000 Palestinian children have fallen victim to the disproportionate and indiscriminate violence in Gaza. Among Palestinian civilians, the total number of deaths exceeds 40,000. It is a moral obligation for Italy to recognize the State of Palestine and do everything to put an end to this atrocity.
Among the thousands of signatures collected throughout Italy, the 750 from Agrigento stand out, the result of the work of local associations that have organized, in recent months, numerous stands to collect citizens’ signatures. The support and closeness to the victims of the humanitarian crisis by the people of Agrigento have been enormous.
Former MP Michele Sodano represented his Agrigento in Rome, joining in the delivery of the 75,000 signatures collected nationwide to the President of the Senate, Ignazio La Russa. Alessandro Di Battista, spokesman for the initiative, said: “Popular initiative laws are a wonderful example of democracy and parliamentarians should be obliged to discuss them. In a dramatic moment for Western democracies, collecting tens of thousands of certified signatures is an important signal.”
