Two Italian ships are defending the Flotilla, which is en route to deliver aid to Gaza. Guido Crosetto announced : "The FASAN will be joined by another, the Alpino, which has already departed and has additional capabilities, should they be needed," the Defense Minister said in the Chamber of Deputies during an urgent briefing on the drone attack on the activists.
«We are there to protect Italian citizens, but it is not our intention to move military ships to wage war on a friendly country» , clarified Crosetto, who firmly condemned the «unacceptable attacks on civilian vessels in open water» , which «do not respect international law», but warned the Flotilla, «in Israeli waters we do not guarantee anything» .
"We will continue to work to ensure that no incident occurs on the Flotilla, and I ask for your help in this regard, regardless of political opposition," he said, addressing the opposition. "The climate is worrying, and I say that we are incapable of guaranteeing the safety of the vessels outside of international waters. I want to be clear about this, and therefore recommend accepting the solution of delivering aid to Cyprus through the Church ."
But "was it really necessary to risk the safety of Italian citizens to bring aid to Gaza?" the minister asked. "The government has provided significant support to the population in the Strip; we are able to deliver aid in just a few hours."
Finally, an appeal to Parliament: "I ask for a collective commitment. Saying we are jointly responsible for the genocide does not help the Italian government. We feel no co-responsibility for Netanyahu's actions against the Palestinian population . The first Western aid to arrive in the Gaza Strip was the Vulcano ship."
(Unionenline)
