Milan students call for Israel's exclusion from Winter Olympics over Gaza war

Around 100 pro-Palestine students demonstrated outside Milan's State University on Thursday evening, calling for Israel to be excluded from the Winter Olympics over its war on Gaza.

The protest took place outside one of Europe's largest universities, located in central Milan, as the Olympic torch relay passed along Francesco Sforza Street in front of the campus.

Students waved Palestinian flags, lit flares and held banners reading "We won’t play with Milan". Chants of "Free, free, Palestine" echoed through the crowd, alongside slogans such as "The Olympic torch of shame, complicit in genocide and apartheid".

The demonstrators objected to Israel’s participation in this year’s Winter Games, where the country is represented by nine athletes competing in events including alpine skiing, figure skating, bobsleigh and skeleton.

Protesters accused Olympic organisers of double standards, arguing that Israel should face the same restrictions imposed on Russian athletes following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

"If Russian athletes are barred from marching under their flag because of war crimes, then Israel should not be allowed to parade its flag while committing genocide in Gaza," one protester told Italian media.

Similar demonstrations were held during the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, where Israel’s participation also sparked protests and calls for a sporting boycott.

More than 3,500 athletes from 93 countries are set to compete at this year’s Winter Olympics. As in previous editions, no Palestinian athletes are participating.

The protest did not disrupt the torch relay, which continued towards Milan’s Duomo cathedral ahead of the Games’ opening later this week.

Italian complicity and accountability

The protest forms part of a broader challenge to Italy’s political and diplomatic support for Israel as the war on Gaza continues, despite a declared ceasefire.

Human rights organisations have repeatedly accused the Italian government of complicity through its continued political, economic and military ties with Israel.

Amnesty International Italy has criticised Rome’s refusal to support suspending the EU-Israel Association Agreement, arguing that Italy’s inaction amounts to complicity in serious violations of international law.

"Italy has shown inertia and passivity that can only be explained as an act of complicity," the organisation has said, citing mounting evidence of war crimes and acts it describes as genocidal.

These accusations have moved into the legal arena. A coalition of jurists and lawyers under the banner "Giuristi e Avvocati per la Palestina" has filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court naming Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and Defence Minister Guido Crosetto.

The filing argues that Italy’s continued arms exports, military cooperation and failure to protect humanitarian initiatives such as the Global Sumud Flotilla may amount to legal responsibility under international law.

Similar concerns have been raised by Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, who has repeatedly criticised Italy's role.

Calls for Israel to be excluded from international sporting events have grown since the start of the war on Gaza.

The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement movement has urged pressure on the International Olympic Committee, arguing that Israel’s decades-long system of settler colonialism and apartheid has denied Palestinians fundamental rights, including the right to participate freely in cultural and sporting life.

Additional protests were reported on Friday over the decision by Italian authorities to include officials from the American Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency in the security apparatus of the Olympics.