By Angelo Amante
UDINE, Italy (Reuters) -Thousands of Pro-Palestinian demonstrators on Tuesday marched in the northern Italian city of Udine before Italy’s World Cup soccer qualifier against Israel, concluding their mostly peaceful protest with clashes involving police.
The march, attended by over 5,000 participants according to preliminary police estimates, wound its way through the city centre from late afternoon, before the match at the Friuli Stadium, which Italy won 3-0, kicked off at 20:45 (1845 GMT).
Organisers, Committee for Palestine-Udine, called on soccer’s global governing body FIFA to ban Israel from all competitions, saying the team supported “occupation policies” in the Palestinian territories.
Protesters carried an 18-metre Palestinian flag and a large red banner with the demonstration’s slogan, “Show Israel the red card”. A metal statue symbolising justice held scales in one hand and a red card in the other.
“There has been a ceasefire, but not peace. As I wrote on my placard, there can be no peace without justice,” said demonstrator Valentina Bianchi.
At the end of the march, some protesters threw firecrackers and crowd control barriers at anti-riot police, who responded with water cannons and tear gas.
In a statement, state broadcaster RAI said one of its journalists had been hit by a stone and taken to hospital. Ansa news agency reported a second journalist was injured in the clashes and some police officers had also received treatment.
“What happened tonight is unacceptable. Our city strongly condemns the violence that took place in the streets at the end of the demonstration,” said mayor Alberto Felice De Toni.
Organisers pressed ahead with the protest even after Israel and militant group Hamas agreed a ceasefire deal that included the release of the remaining living Israeli hostages and the return of Palestinian prisoners.
SECURITY MEASURES
The Italian soccer federation said just over 9,000 tickets had been sold for the match against Israel, well short of the reduced capacity of 16,000.
Some shops kept their shutters down for the entire day while others closed in the afternoon as the protest began, amid fears of damage after violence at demonstrations in Italy in recent weeks.
Local authorities issued a raft of restrictions, including road closures and parking limits, and installed concrete barriers around the stadium to create security zones.
Serving food and drink in glass, ceramic or tin containers was banned on match day, and outdoor furnishings had to be removed from outside public establishments.
Some residents disliked the high-security atmosphere in the usually quiet city.
“I saw helicopters flying over my head. I believe such a deployment of forces for a football match should never take place,” said resident Paolo Lizzi.
(Reporting by Angelo Amante and Roberto Mignucci;Editing by Keith Weir, Ed Osmond and Toby Davis)
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