Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Antonio Tajani, is on a mission to the Middle East with visits to Beirut, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Ramallah.
Addressing the situation in the Gaza Strip, the Deputy Prime Minister commented that “Italy continues working to prevent the conflict from spreading and to promote a de-escalation”, adding that “it is necessary to quickly resume efforts towards a two-state solution, which is the most effective response to the heinous attacks by Hamas”.
In Lebanon, Tajani will have meetings with leading members of the Lebanese government and will visit the Italian Bilateral Military Mission in Lebanon (MIBIL), from which he will be on video conference with the Italian contingent at the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), where 1,062 Italian soldiers are currently stationed. Since 2015, the MIBIL Mission has been training the Lebanese Armed Forces to improve their ability to control the territory.
On Thursday 25 January, Minister Tajani’s agenda will include meetings at the highest level with the Israeli and Palestinian authorities, as well as with his Israeli counterpart Katz and Palestinian counterpart al-Maliki. Minister Tajani will also attend, in his capacity as guest of honour, the annual ceremony held at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial, on the occasion of the Holocaust Remembrance Day.
m will testify that Italy is in the front line, alongside Israel, against anti-Semitism”, stressed the Deputy Prime Minister, adding that “these shameful outbreaks of anti-Semitism that are spreading as a consequence of the current conflict cannot be tolerated in any way: this year, all the more so, we have a duty to oppose them everywhere, in every way”.
