The international ties of Italian revolutionary groups are conventionally underplayed and portrayed in terms of smuggling of weapons or generic solidarity by sympathizers. In contrast, this paper proposes an in-depth investigation into the complex relationship between the Autonomy–a violence-prone New Left cluster–and the PFLP–a Palestinian terrorist organisation inspired by Marxism-Leninism. This research, based on historical sources, judicial documents, and oral testimonies, demonstrates the extent to which this connection was stable and far-reaching. Therefore, the investigation sheds light on the mutual benefits of such bond: a) on the Italian side, the legitimation of autonomous violence as a people’s struggle and its belonging to a transnational cause, b) on the Palestinian side, the logistic support offered by autonomous militants, coupled with the judiciary quasi-immunity granted to Arab terrorists by the Italian government. The research also offers theoretical insights, by focusing on the radicalizing effect of this kind of relationship.
