After the ongoing massacres in the Gaza Strip, where hunger is being used to consume an entire population, the first timid condemnations are coming from government officials. “We no longer want to see children dying of hunger and bombs. Enough of the carnage, we need an immediate ceasefire,” said Forza Italia leader and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani in his speech to his party’s National Council, underlining however that “we are friends of Israel, but we have told Israel so.” However, while Macron announces France's recognition of the State of Palestine (as already done by Spain, Norway and Ireland ), the Italian government is firm in its position. Tajani himself declares that"Italy is for the two peoples and two States solution, but the recognition of the new Palestinian state must take place simultaneously with their recognition of the State of Israel." "We are interested in peace, not the victory of one over the other," added the deputy prime minister.
Words that provoked a reaction from opposition figures. Democratic Party MP Laura Boldrini made"disconcerting" statements: "Someone should explain to Tajani that the Palestinian National Authority has already recognized Israel for some time." "This inaction, barely punctuated by a few timid declarations," Boldrini added,"is unbearable and makes the Italian government, and all those governments that are doing nothing, complicit in Netanyahu's criminal plan." The M5S group leader in the Senate, Stefano Patuanelli, echoes this sentiment: “Minister Tajani either doesn't read the news, which would be serious, or he truly believes what he says, which would be even worse. Israeli government ministers, he emphasizes, have already blatantly declared that their objective is to wipe out Gaza, the genocide is unstoppable, and any negotiation will fail miserably. If we continue like this, we will indeed have two states, one with skyscrapers and the other with only desert and rubble; and one people, because the other will be exterminated,” Patuanelli declares.
Position reiterated by opposition leaders."Following Spain, France also announces its recognition of Palestine in the face of genocide and plans for the mass deportation of Palestinians. The criminal Netanyahu, who is exterminating and starving an entire people, incredibly thunders: 'This is a reward for terrorism,'" writes Giuseppe Conte on social media. “And Italy? While Salvini is rewarded for his friendship with Israel, Meloni refuses to suspend the military memorandum of understanding with the criminal government of Israel, and today in the press we read disturbing news of new contacts between military leaders in Rome and Tel Aviv, of possible new plans for military cooperation on which the government will have to provide clarifications. What a national shame,” concludes the leader of the M5S."What happened yesterday with the Israeli minister's remarks about the conquest of Gaza is unacceptable from every point of view: these crimes must be stopped, and I appreciate that France also recognizes the State of Palestine. We must get Italy to do the same," said Democratic Party secretary Elly Schlein during a conference."I wanted to reiterate this," she added,"because I read incomprehensible statements from Tajani's minister, according to whom the path is that of two peoples and two states." However, she noted,"one state already exists, the other is illegally occupied."
"Something is finally moving in Europe. The recognition of Palestine is the first step toward peace based on a two-state solution," emphasizes Peppe De Cristofaro, leader of the Green and Left Alliance, president of the Mixed Group in the Senate."Instead of following Spain and France's lead, the Italian government is continuing with the military memorandum with Israel. These memoranda and arms exports have never stopped, contrary to what the government claims. The government lied, a very serious matter for which we will hold Parliament accountable," continues De Cristofaro."Faced with the plan to exterminate the population of Gaza, now openly declared by Israeli government ministers, Giorgia Meloni should follow Macron and announce that Italy intends to recognize the state of Palestine and that other European countries should follow," said +Europa Secretary Riccardo Magi."It would be," he added,"a very strong political message to put pressure on Netanyahu to end the brutal siege of Gaza and allow aid to the Palestinian population. This would not legitimize Hamas: recognizing the state of Palestine," he emphasized,"is not equivalent to rewarding terror, as Netanyahu claims, which is what he is doing with his war, fueling the resentment and violence that will inevitably explode in the coming years."
