Dozens of militants of Italy's extreme-right Forza Nuova movement rallied outside Rome's Colosseum on Wednesday shouting anti-Semitic abuse in what they said was a commemoration of "Palestinian martyrs" slain by the Israeli army.
Demonstrators asked city authorities to light up the ancient amphitheater, a practice normally reserved to cancellations or suspensions of death sentences in countries still practicing capital punishment.
But the militants said they would use their own torches to "light the Colosseum with or without the agreement of city authorities" in commemoration of "Palestinian martyrs executed by the Israeli army."
Ten demonstrators planned to extend their protest at Rome's most famous monument for a 10-day period.
Protestors shouted, "Every Palestinian is a comrade -- same enemy, same barricade" and "A light for every Palestinian killed."
Battles between demonstrators and Israeli security forces, the bloodiest in four years, have cost more than 60 lives, mainly Palestinian, in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Israel since Friday, threatening to derail the Middle east peace process.
Jewish street hawkers, traditionally catering to tourists in the Colosseum area, reacted angrily to an anti-Semitic slur shouted by a group member via megaphone.
A piece of wood thrown in the direction of the demonstrators hit a policeman instead, slightly injuring him.
At the rally, far-right city councilor Daniele Giannini denounced "Israeli arrogance" for using "weapons against those who throw stones." - ROME (AFP)
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