For Italian diplomacy, peace in Gaza and the Middle East is still a priority objective and we are working, together with allies, to encourage de-escalation.

In Rome, with Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, he was open to a further contribution, once hostilities in the Strip had ceased: the sending of soldiers if a UN peacekeeping mission was created. Like the long-standing commitment among the peacekeepers in Lebanon. "Should a peace mission be needed in Gaza in a transition phase, we are ready to send our soldiers with the UN as bearers of peace", explained Tajani, recalling the example of the over 1,000 Italian soldiers employed in Unifil to protect the Blue Line, the intermediate zone between Lebanon and Israel.

And regarding Unifil, the head of the Farnesina clarified that "there is no American request to expand the Lebanese mission". A clarification deemed necessary after some journalistic reconstructions according to which Washington had asked Rome to involve its peacekeepers in a plan to widen the borders of the Blue Line, with the aim of preventing tension between Hezbollah and the Jewish State from increasing further.

However, the Italian commitment remains central and there is a willingness to work with all parties for mediation, as Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni explained in recent days in a conversation with the Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and in a face-to-face meeting at the Palace Chigi with US envoy Amos Hochstein.

The government's intentions will also be reiterated by Tajani in his next mission to the region, on 24 and 25 January, with stops in Lebanon, Israel and the West Bank.

The point of failure for Rome in the Middle East, despite Benjamin Netanyahu's opposition, remains the solution of 2 peoples and 2 states, "in line with the Arab peace plan", reiterated the head of the Farnesina.

(Unioneonline/ss)