An extraordinary edition of the March
for Peace and Brotherhood to Assisi was held on Sunday to call
for an end to the fighting in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.
Democratic Party (PD) leader Elly Schlein said she was taking
part to "stop the risk of a full-blown genocide in Palestine.
"We wanted to be here to reiterate our request for an immediate
humanitarian ceasefire in relation to what is happening in Gaza,
where a line has already been crossed," added the leader of the
opposition, centre-left group.
"There have been in an incredible, unacceptable number of
civilian victims since the beginning of the conflict.
"We repeat our call for the release of all the hostages (held by
Hamas) and for an end to the indiscriminate bombing of Gaza,
which is affecting the civilian population.
"Hamas is not the Palestinian people and equating the two is not
only a mistake, it is also a favor to this organization, which
instead must be isolated, both among the Palestinian people and
in the Arab world".
The 24-kilometre March from Perugia to Assisi is held every year
in September since 1961.
The starting point for Sunday's extraordinary march, however,
was the town of Santa Maria degli Angeli, which is some four
kilometres from Assisi.
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