Italian Police Arrest Pro-Palestinian Activist Amid Nationwide Protests
Italian police arrested a pro-Palestinian activist suspected of inciting terror as violent protests and clashes erupted across Italy, France, and Spain.
Italian police arrested a 30-year-old pro-Palestinian activist suspected of organizing violent protests and inciting terrorism across the country. According to Italian media, the suspect, Youssef Sehir, was known to internal security services after founding an organization that disseminated propaganda associated with Hamas. His arrest took place as thousands of young people demonstrated in numerous Italian cities, clashing with police.
Simultaneously, protests continued in France with clashes reported in several cities, alongside unrest in Barcelona where hundreds of youths rioted and looted stores.
Arrest and Investigation in Milan
According to La Repubblica, Sehir was located in a female associate's apartment in Milan and taken into custody shortly before the movement was scheduled to publish protest locations. Cyber police tracked him for several days in coordination with the counter-terrorism unit, while Meta provided investigators with the IP address of the movement's Instagram page. In the evening, the Milan prosecutor's office ordered his arrest.
According to the ANSA news agency, he is suspected of aggravated incitement to commit offenses for terrorist purposes and organized violence during protests. His wife is also suspected of the same offenses but was not arrested. Sehir was previously flagged by Italy's internal intelligence service in 2024 after establishing an organization called "The Rising Sun," which distributed pro-Hamas and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine propaganda among Muslim communities in Europe.
Clashes Across Italian Cities
Ahead of the demonstrations, police conducted over 150 house searches in Milan and 20 other northern cities following the discovery of a WhatsApp group discussing attacks on police and arson. Over 10,000 people marched in Milan, while protests in Rome, Turin, Bologna, and Florence turned violent.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni thanked security forces for ensuring public safety despite attempts by violent groups to provoke riots, stating that recent government measures are designed to prevent criminals from setting entire cities ablaze.
Unrest Spreads to Spain and France
In Barcelona, at least 100 people were arrested following protests inspired by the French unrest, with participants throwing fireworks and looting shops. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands demonstrated in France against the cost of living, with interior ministry figures recording 410,000 protesters and nearly 1,000 arrests amid clashes and looting in Paris, Marseille, and other cities.
