Vice Minister Marina Sereni received a delegation of Ambassadors from Arab countries at the Foreign Ministry: the Ambassador of the Arab League and the Ambassadors of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar and Tunisia. The meeting had been requested in connection with the recent spiralling violence in the Middle East.
At the meeting, the Vice Minister stressed the need to work to strengthen the ceasefire reached between Israel and Hamas, expressing appreciation for the role played by the international community, in particular the United States and Egypt, and hoping that the parties would avoid actions that could fuel new tensions. In particular, Vice Minister Sereni reiterated Italy’s traditional position on settlements, demolitions and forced evictions of Palestinian families and on the status of the Holy Sites, stressing that Jerusalem is and must remain a place of peaceful coexistence among all religious faiths. Vice Minister Sereni then emphasised the urgency of ensuring full humanitarian access to Gaza and of working towards reconstruction.
In the context of Italy’s long-standing support for a two-state solution, the Vice Minister reaffirmed the need to take every possible initiative to revive negotiations between the parties. In this regard, she recalled the work undertaken by Italy, together with Spain, for a stronger role by the European Union on this issue, which is of fundamental importance for ensuring the security and peace of the entire Middle East region.
Finally, the Vice Minister underlined the importance of intra-Palestinian reconciliation and the need for the Palestinian Authority to be able to reconfirm and reschedule the electoral process, as soon as conditions on the ground permit.
