{"id":131286,"date":"2025-02-07T08:50:19","date_gmt":"2025-02-07T07:50:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/sala_stampa\/archivionotizie\/\/2025\/02\/tajani-ce-uno-stato-palestinese-nel-futuro-della-striscia-sbagliata-lidea-di-donald-il-messaggero\/"},"modified":"2025-02-07T14:20:17","modified_gmt":"2025-02-07T13:20:17","slug":"tajani-ce-uno-stato-palestinese-nel-futuro-della-striscia-sbagliata-lidea-di-donald-il-messaggero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/sala_stampa\/archivionotizie\/interviste\/2025\/02\/tajani-ce-uno-stato-palestinese-nel-futuro-della-striscia-sbagliata-lidea-di-donald-il-messaggero\/","title":{"rendered":"Tajani: “A Palestinian State in Gaza\u2019s future. Trump’s idea is wrong” (Il Messaggero)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cIt takes a lot of patience\u2026\u201d Antonio Tajani lets out a deep sigh as he takes his first ten-minute break of a day packed with meetings, nibbling on a small focaccia<\/em> and hummus with vegetables at the residence of the Italian ambassador in Tel Aviv. He would rather talk about the bilateral meeting he just concluded with his counterpart Gideon Sa\u2019ar, the Deputy Prime Minister. Or about the success of the Italian Foreign Ministry\u2019s Food for Gaza initiative (\u201cWe want to do even more, Italy can make a huge contribution on the humanitarian front\u201d). Or even about his phone conversation (\u201cin Spanish\u201d) with Marco Rubio a few days ago: \u201cIt was his first call with a European Foreign Minister,\u201d he notes. \u201cThere is great harmony between us.\u201d Yet, the controversy surrounding the Almasri case, far from settled after a heated parliamentary session just 24 hours earlier, and the rumours of an International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation into the Italian government (which later turned out to be unfounded) inevitably follow him all the way to Israel. Speaking from the port of Ashdod, he responds bluntly: \u201cAn ICC investigation into the Italian government? Maybe there should be an investigation into the Court\u2019s own actions. We need clarification on how it has conducted itself. I fully support what Minister Nordio said yesterday.\u201d However, those following the case point out that, technically, an investigation could still be launched, as a formal complaint has been filed against four members of the Italian government at The Hague.<\/p>\n

MOUNTING TENSION<\/p>\n

\u201cThey can file as many complaints as they like\u2026 It takes a lot of patience,\u201d Tajani remarks, with a clear hint of irritation. The tone remains tense, despite President Sergio Mattarella\u2019s remarks just a day earlier in Marseille, underscoring the crucial role of international organisations in Western democracies. But doesn\u2019t Italy, which hosted the ICC\u2019s founding in Rome, risk delegitimising the Court with what sounds like a declaration of war? \u201cThe same applies as with Europe,\u201d Tajani replies. \u201cBeing pro-European doesn\u2019t mean saying everything is fine all the time: criticising doesn\u2019t mean being against institutions, which are run by people.\u201d He continues, \u201cIt is legitimate to challenge certain actions of the Court, which has made political decisions. Just as pointing out that the UN reacted too slowly on Ukraine doesn\u2019t mean questioning our participation in the UN.\u201d Meanwhile, the opposition continues to press the government, accusing Prime Minister Meloni and her cabinet of avoiding the debate. Tajani believes it is not his place to respond, saying that his colleagues have already done so. He also refrains from commenting on another controversy pushed by the centre-left: allegations that journalists were spied on using software from a company that, according to The Guardian, recently ended a contract with the Italian government. That issue, he notes, is being handled directly by Prime Minister\u2019s office. What Tajani does weigh in on, however, is Donald Trump\u2019s plan to \u201cempty\u201d the Gaza Strip of its inhabitants and take control of it, perhaps to turn it into the \u201cRiviera of the Middle East.\u201d The key word here is “caution”. \u201cRubio has already clarified those statements,\u201d is Tajani\u2019s initial response while en route to Tel Aviv. \u201cAnd Israel has made it clear that no solution will be imposed against the will of the civilians who live in the Gaza Strip.\u201d Later, however, his stance becomes more direct, perhaps influenced by Matteo Salvini\u2019s enthusiastic endorsement of Trump\u2019s proposal. The leader of the Lega called it a \u201cNobel Peace Prize-winning idea, if he pulls it off.\u201d Without directly referencing his coalition partner (\u201cEveryone is entitled to their own opinion\u2026\u201d), Tajani makes it clear where Rome stands. \u201cOur position is clear,\u201d he warns. \u201cItaly is actively working to ensure that the truce leads towards the solution of two States for two peoples.\u201d This, he says, should happen through the reunification of Palestine, which must recognise Israel, at which point, it too should be recognised.” Then comes the decisive remark: \u201cAny other move at this moment would be unrealistic, wrong, and, I would say, counter-productive.\u201d Trump\u2019s proposed voluntary exodus from Gaza, meanwhile, seems poorly defined. The Italian Foreign Ministry sees it as \u201cunclear\u201d and \u201chard to grasp\u201d at this stage. The Italian Foreign Ministry views Trump\u2019s words more as a contribution of ideas and a sign of his “willingness to engage” in peace efforts for the region. This contrasts with Tajani\u2019s Israeli counterpart, Gideon Sa\u2019ar, who, in their joint press conference in Ashdod, declared Gaza\u2019s political experiment a “failure” and suggested that the United States would be an \u201cexcellent candidate to restore the Strip after the war.\u201d<\/p>\n

UKRAINE AND NETANYAHU<\/p>\n

Tajani will have the chance to further discuss these issues with the White House at the next G7 Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Munich, scheduled for Saturday the 15th. \u201cWith Rubio, we will discuss the Middle East and Russia. Contacts between Moscow and Washington have intensified, which has alarmed Zelensky,\u201d the Deputy Prime Minister explains. Ironically, even Washington has recently clashed with the ICC over its arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, who is currently visiting the White House. Would Italy be forced to arrest Netanyahu if he visited Rome? \u201cWhat are we supposed to do, go to war with Israel just because the ICC says so?\u201d Tajani snaps. Then, with what sounds like a final jab at The Hague, he adds: \u201cOr rather, because three ICC judges decided so, one of whom later became Prime Minister of Lebanon and openly declared that Israel was his main enemy?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cIt takes a lot of patience\u2026\u201d Antonio Tajani lets out a deep sigh as he takes his first ten-minute break of a day packed with meetings, nibbling on a small focaccia and hummus with vegetables at the residence of the Italian ambassador in Tel Aviv. He would rather talk about the bilateral meeting he just […]","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":131253,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[397,6,28,360],"class_list":["post-131286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interviste","tag-america-settentrionale","tag-mediterraneo-e-medio-oriente","tag-ministro","tag-ucraina"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131286"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131286\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":131287,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131286\/revisions\/131287"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/131253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}