Meloni hardens stance on Israel: red line crossed, Italy will support sanctions

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has expressed stronger criticism of Israeli military actions in Gaza. She said that the response to the Hamas attack on October 7 has gone beyond the limits of proportionality and crossed the “red line”.

Meloni acknowledged that it was necessary to fight terrorism after the Hamas attack, but assessed that the Israeli operation has violated humanitarian law and resulted in a “massacre of civilians”.

She also announced that Italy will support possible European Union sanctions against Israel, in a noticeable shift in the stance of the government in Rome.

Nevertheless, the prime minister stressed that Israel cannot block the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

After the October 7 attack, Italy had supported Israel’s right to self-defense. But as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has worsened, Rome’s stance has become more critical. Earlier, Italy supported European sanctions against violent Israeli settlers in the West Bank, as well as against Israeli Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Meloni made these statements as several European countries have taken steps against Israel’s policies. In September, 11 European countries and Canada imposed punitive measures on goods coming from Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Meanwhile, the EU is continuing to review its relations with Israel, including the fulfillment of human rights obligations under the EU-Israel Association Agreement.