Official Announcement in the Italian capital of the launch of a new phase of the International Coalition to Defend the Rights of the Palestinian People and Protect the Right of Return.
Rome - The declaration came during an expanded conference that brought together political parties, trade-union actors, cultural figures and human-rights advocates who share a firm belief in the justice of the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian people’s right to liberation, return and independence.
The announcement in Rome marks a strategic step in the coalition’s global expansion. The initiative was first introduced in Paris on 4 June 2025 in partnership with the French Communist Party, with the participation of representatives from five Italian left-wing parties and more than 14 influential Italian trade-union, media and community figures. While the Paris conference laid the intellectual and political foundations of the coalition, the Rome meeting builds on that groundwork by launching the second European phase of an expanding international solidarity project, one that underscores the coalition’s ongoing struggle across global and human-rights arenas.
The launch conference was attended by a Palestinian delegation headed by Ahmad Said Al-Tamimi - member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization and head of the PLO’s Department of Human Rights & Civil Society. Also present were Mona Abu Amara - the Palestinian Ambassador to the Italian Republic, Munib Rashid al-Masri - chairman of the Palestine Forum, and Qasem Awwad - deputy head of the PLO’s Department of Human Rights and Civil Society and coordinator of the conference’s proceedings. The event also brought together representatives of women’s organizations, associations concerned with prisoners and martyrs, members of the Palestinian community in Italy, the regional branch of the Fatah Movement, and several Palestinian civil-society institutions. Members of the delegation expressed their profound appreciation for the steadfast position of left-wing popular movements in Italy and across Europe, noting that these movements today constitute the first line of defence for the rights of the Palestinian people in the face of Israeli occupation and policies of Zionist apartheid.
Opening Session… A Global Message of Solidarity
The conference commenced with the Italian national anthem followed by the Palestinian national anthem, a symbolic scene that highlighted the depth of struggle-based ties uniting liberation movements around the world. The Opening remarks were delivered by Ahmad Said Al-Tamimi, Mr. Walter Massa - Secretary-General of the Italian Constituent Communist Party, and Palestinian Ambassador Abu Amara.
Speakers converged on a shared call for building a comprehensive international solidarity movement, led by Europe’s social, labour and left-wing forces to confront Israel’s ongoing violations against the Palestinian people, including what they described as genocide in Gaza, the colonial settlement expansion and apartheid policies in the West Bank, alongside the blockade of Gaza Strip, repression and continuous human-rights abuses.
In-Depth Interventions: From Europe to Palestine
The conference featured extensive interventions from Italy, France, Belgium and Spain, during which speakers voiced their unequivocal rejection of the Israeli policies of genocide and forced displacement. They stressed the necessity to pursue Israeli occupation leaders before the International Criminal Court, reaffirmed the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and to establish an independent and fully sovereign state, and underscored the imperative of safeguarding the right of return as the core of the Palestinian cause and a cornerstone of international justice.
Speakers also underscored that Europe bears a historical, moral and political responsibility toward the Palestinian cause, a responsibility rooted in the legacy of colonialism, the historic support some European governments offered to the Zionist project, and their current complicity through arms deals and political backing.
Final Statement… The Rome Declaration
During the closing session, Qasem Awwad, the conference coordinator, read the final statement alongside Anna Camposampiero, representative of the Italian Communist Party.
The statement affirmed that both the Italian Communist Party and the Communist Re-Foundation Party regard the Palestine Liberation Organization as a sister movement, stressing that the Palestinian struggle is an integral part of the global liberation movement. It further stated that a just peace in Palestine will only be achieved when the Palestinian flag is raised over Al-Aqsa Mosque and the churches of East Jerusalem, the capital of the State of Palestine.
The Historical Context of the Conflict
The statement reviewed the historical roots of the Palestinian tragedy, beginning with the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916 and the Balfour Declaration of 1917, followed by the ethnic cleansing carried out during the 1948 Nakba, and the subsequent policies of Israeli settler colonialism and Zionist apartheid leading up to the recent ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip since 2023.
According to the statement, the continuation of Israeli crimes is the direct result of US-European complicity and international silence, a silence that politically, economically and rhetorically sustains and reinforces the structures of Israeli occupation.
Establishing a Permanent European Alliance and Its Objectives
The conference also announced the formation of a permanent Europe-wide alliance between the Italian Communist Re-Foundation Party and the Palestine Liberation Organization, recognized as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.
The alliance aims to broaden European support for the Palestinian cause, build an international network that upholds Palestinian rights, and unify trade-union, political and human-rights efforts. It further seeks to establish a pressure bloc within Europe to hold the Israeli occupation authorities accountable, support boycott and legal-accountability campaigns, and coordinate joint action to safeguard the right of return.
From Paris to Rome… An Expanding International Front
The statement stressed that the Rome conference represents the natural extension and strategic expansion of the international coalition launched in Paris on 4 June 2025 in partnership with the French Communist Party.
This new phase seeks to leverage the political and organizational strength of Italian left-wing parties, reinforce trade-union and community participation, and widen the circle of European forces joining the coalition. Ultimately, it aims to build a solid international front dedicated to defending the Palestinian people.
Shared Commitments for the Upcoming Phase
Participants agreed on a set of practical commitments for the next phase, most notably the immediate demand to: an immediate call to halt the genocide in Gaza; ending the Israeli occupation of all Palestinian territories occupied in 1967; the restoration of Palestinian land, water, and resources; and the protection of Jerusalem as the eternal capital of the State of Palestine.
The commitments also include rejecting the system of apartheid and racial segregation, supporting the right of return in accordance with UN Resolution 194, securing the release of all Palestinian prisoners, and supporting the establishment of an independent, democratic, and secular Palestinian state founded on justice, dignity, and equality.
Conclusion of the Statement … Declaration of International Will
The statement concluded with a decisive message embodying the spirit of this international coalition, that is not merely a leftist alliance, but a union of the world’s free peoples, committed to defending the rights of the Palestinian people, safeguarding the right of return, and confronting the Israeli colonialism, apartheid, and racial discrimination.
