'I'm not in favor of recognizing it before a process for its constitution begins,' Meloni tells Italian daily La Repubblica
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Saturday that “now is not the right time” to recognize a Palestinian state, warning that premature recognition could be counterproductive and risk masking unresolved issues.
In an interview with Italian daily La Repubblica, Meloni criticized France’s recent recognition of the State of Palestine, calling it "rushed."
“I believe that recognizing the State of Palestine, without there being a State of Palestine, could even be counterproductive to the objective. If something that doesn't exist is recognized on paper, the problem risks appearing solved, when it isn't,” Meloni said.
She added that she had conveyed this position to the Palestinian Authority, to Macron, and to Italy’s Parliament.
“As someone who is very much in favor of the State of Palestine, I'm not in favor of recognizing it before a process for its constitution begins,” she said.
Meloni’s remarks triggered backlash from opposition figures. Angelo Bonelli, a Green Europe lawmaker, slammed the comments as “serious and unacceptable,” according to Italian news agency ANSA.
“Saying that ‘it's not the time’ and that it would even be ‘counterproductive,’ while Gaza continues to die of hunger and bombing, is a sign of total political and moral subservience to the executioner Netanyahu and the Israeli right,” Bonelli argued.
“This is not prudence, it is complicity,” he added, urging Italy to follow other European countries that have recognized Palestinian statehood.
Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, killing over 59,600 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The relentless bombardment has destroyed the enclave and led to food shortages.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
