Pro-Palestinian activists stopped from disrupting Milan Cortina Olympics torch relay

ROME (AP) – Two groups of pro-Palestinian activists were prevented by authorities from coming into contact with the opening stages of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics torch relay, Italian police said on Saturday.

Both groups – one of them with about 15 people – were removed before they reached the relay route in Rome, police said.

A third group of about 10 people that was monitored by police waved Palestinian flags when the relay passed by the city’s biggest university, La Sapienza.

There were also three people carrying signs in support of Venezuela near the American embassy.

In October, more than two million demonstrators marched through more than 100 Italian cities to protest the war in Gaza.

Olympic champion swimmer Gregorio Paltrinieri began the relay in the statue-lined Stadio dei Marmi and the torch was carried for 33 kilometers (20 miles) before ending the day in Piazza del Popolo.

The relay will cover 12,000 kilometers (nearly 7,500 miles) and wind its way through all 110 Italian provinces before reaching Milan’s San Siro Stadium for the opening ceremony on Feb. 6.

In all, there will be 10,001 torch bearers.

The next stops on the torch relay are Viterbo on Sunday and Terni on Monday.