Italian officials in Rome and Milan on Friday ordered the postponement of pro-Palestinian demonstrations after Jewish communities expressed concern at a clash with international Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Rome's prefecture said the march through the capital, organised by the "Movement of Italian Palestinian Students" for Saturday, will have to be held "on another date, from January 28".
A similar decision was taken in the northern city of Milan.
Victor Fadlun, head of the Jewish Community of Rome, hailed the move as "fair and sensible", writing on Facebook that it would avoid "insulting the memory" of the Holocaust.
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi had Thursday said it was a complex issue whether or not to postpone the demonstrations, as freedom of expression is a right enshrined in the constitution.
But with tensions running high over the Hamas-Israel war, the events risked "drifting away from the values defended by the law, such as in this case the commemoration of the Shoah (Holocaust)", he said.
On Saturday, pro-Palestinian demonstrators protesting at the presence of Israeli exhibitors at an international jewellery fair clashed with police in the Italian city of Vicenza.