Italy has "great trust" in the Palestinian Authority headed by Mahmoud Abbas, which it backs as a key player in efforts to end Israel's 133-day-old war with Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, according to foreign minister Antonio Tajani.
"Israel has the right to defend itself, the goal is that of two peoples, two states. Israel must live in security, but the Palestinian people must be given hope," Tajani told reporters Friday at a Forza Italia consultation in Milan.
“We have great trust in and support the PA. I underlined this to Abu Mazen (Abbas) during the last meeting I had with him in the occupied West Bank town of Ramallah), Tajani said.
Italy wants a truce in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip and the "immediate" release of some 130 hostages still be being in the Palestinian enclave, he said. The hostages were captured during Hamas' deadly 7 October cross-border attack in which 1,200 people were killed and over 200 abducted, triggering Israel's military devastating military offensive in which some 30,000 Palestinians have died.
“Hamas is a terrorist organization that has not only killed civilian victims in Israel, carrying out a real hunt for Jews, like and if not worse than the (World War II Nazi) Gestapo and the SS," said Tajani.
"But Israel must not to exceed the threshold of proportionality....it is of utmost importance to prevent a massacre of the civilian population," he said, underlining that Hamas "must also decide not to stage further attacks on Israel".
"Hamas continues to launch rockets against Israel, using the civilian population as a shield, this will prevent any (peace) agreement," he said.
At the Munich Security Conference this weekend where he will also chair a G7 foreign ministers' meeting, Tajani said he will discuss the "complicated" situation in the region, amid fears of a wider conflict.
"We hope that tension can also decrease in Lebanon, where unfortunately, (Iran-backed) Hezbollah militants are launching more missiles at Israel," Tajani said.
During the Munich conference Tajani will also hold talks with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Qatar to try to make a contribution to the solution," he said.
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