Italy to join humanitarian maritime corridor for Gaza, says foreign minister

By Giovanni Legorano

ROME (AA) - Italy will join an initiative by the Greek Cypriot administration to create a humanitarian maritime corridor to get more aid into Gaza, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Thursday.

“I have just given Ursula von der Leyen Italy’s commitment to a maritime humanitarian corridor, proposed by Cyprus, to help the Palestinian population,” he told reporters, referring to the Greek Cypriot administration, on the sidelines of a European Popular Party congress in Bucharest, Romania.

Von der Leyen, the current president of the European Commission, who is now seeking a second term, will reportedly travel to the Greek Cypriot administration to discuss the initiative with local authorities.

With Israel’s blockade on Gaza letting in few supplies for the strip’s population of over 2 million, numerous countries are pushing for new routes for the entry of aid to stave off famine and a humanitarian crisis.

Tajani also said Rome supports von der Leyen's proposal to create a defense commissioner, as part of the bloc’s new executive arm, set to be formed after June’s European Parliament elections.

“Without a European defense we won’t be sufficiently important in the world and this doesn’t go against NATO, but in support of NATO,” he said, speaking of the defense alliance, which largely overlaps with EU membership but is legally separate.

He added that Italy wants its commissioner to fill the position of vice-president in the new European executive arm.

He also said that the situation in the Red Sea is “complicated” due to constant attacks by Yemen’s rebel Houthis on mercantile and other Western ships in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.

“We have aimed for and have obtained a European mission. We know that Houthis are dangerous, they are a terrorist organization, and we will react in case of an attack as it has been done,” he said.​​​​​​​