Italy demands Israel respect international law, protect civilians, says premier

By Baris Seckin

ROME (AA) - Italy on Wednesday demanded that Israel respect international law and protect civilians while exercising its right to self-defense, the country’s premier said.

“We affirm Israel's right to defend itself against external aggression, such as the terrible attack of Oct. 7, 2023, but we also demand that Israel respect international law and protect civilians,” Giorgia Meloni said in an address at the 79th UN General Assembly in New York.

“By the same logic, we clearly support the right of the Palestinian people to have their own state,” Meloni said, adding: “But for this to emerge soon, Palestinians must entrust it to a leadership inspired by dialogue and the stability of the Middle East.”

Pointing to the need for a cease-fire in Gaza and the immediate release of the Israeli hostages, she said: “We can no longer witness the tragedies of recent days in southern and eastern Lebanon, involving defenseless civilians, including many children.”

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire, Israel has continued its offensive on the Gaza Strip following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last October.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel also faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.

Israel has launched waves of deadly airstrikes in Lebanon since Monday morning, killing nearly 570 people and injuring over 1,800 others, according to Lebanese health authorities.

Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza, which has killed over 41,400 people, mostly women and children, following a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.

The international community has warned against the strikes on Lebanon, as they raise the specter of spreading the Gaza conflict regionally.

- Artificial intelligence

On the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, Meloni said the war “wounded the rules-based international system.”

The destabilization effect of the war has reached beyond the region “like a domino,” she added.

On demands to reform the UN Security Council, Meloni said: “Italy believes that any revision of the functioning of the UN, starting with the Security Council, cannot ignore the principles of equality, democracy, and representation.”

“It would be a mistake to create new permanent seats and new hierarchies,” she said, adding that Rome is “open to discuss reform without prejudice” while demanding “reform that serves to better represent everyone, not to better represent some.”

She also stressed that they are witnessing the rise of artificial intelligence at a disruptive pace, and that this technology leads to dramatic consequences in the labor market instead of improving human skills.

“It is no coincidence that Italy keeps this theme at the center of the G7 presidency,” she said, adding: “Because we want to play our part in defining a global governance of artificial intelligence that can reconcile innovation, rights, and intellectual property.”

Meloni further emphasized that water and energy scarcity is increasingly affecting development, food security, social stability, and all societies.

One of Italy’s goals is to guarantee the right to “non-migration” for tens of thousands of people who are on desperate journeys to enter Europe illegally, she said, adding that the UN needs to do more in the fight against human trafficking.

Stressing that the legitimate demands of tens of millions of people in Latin America for freedom and democracy are not being met, the Italian premier said she was particularly concerned about the people of Venezuela and that they must speak out against what is happening there.

*Writing by Merve Berker