Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has refused to recognise the so-called “Palestinian state” because of the formidable division between the West Bank, which is controlled by the nationalist Fatah movement – the backbone of the Palestinian Authority (PA), and Gaza, which is governed by the Islamic terrorist organisation Hamas.
“It is impossible for us to recognise Palestine because Palestine does not exist. There is the West Bank and Gaza. Palestine is not a state. This is impossible to recognise because recognising Palestine today is a negative message for peace, because it is a clear message against Israel. Our aim is to work for peace,” stressed the Italian minister.
“Today it is impossible for us to recognise Palestine because we do not have a Palestine,” Tajani said at a press conference alongside his Israeli counterpart, Gideon Saar, in the city of Ashdod, where much of the international humanitarian aid for Gaza arrives.
The Italian reiterated his position in favour of a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians, but considered that recognising the so-called “Palestinian State” now (as Spain, Ireland and Norway have recently done) would be “a negative message for peace”.
Tajani traveled to Israel to participate in a ceremony to receive food aid donated by Italy to the World Food Program for the Gaza Strip, as part of the “Food for Gaza” initiative.
During the press conference, Saar hailed the Italian initiative as an “alternative” to UNRWA, the controversial UN agency for Palestinian refugees, which Israel has banned over its links to Hamas.
“UNRWA is not part of the solution, it is part of the problem,” Saar stressed, an assertion that has been reiterated by the Israeli authorities in recent months.
Agencies contributed to this Aurora article