Italy’s leftist opposition party urges gov't to recognize Palestine, support ICC against Israel

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) – Italy’s Greens and Left Alliance (AVS) urged the government to recognize Palestine as a state and support the International Criminal Court (ICC) to hold Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu liable for “crimes against humanity” in Gaza.

Speaking to the country’s state-run ANSA news agency, party’s lawmaker Angelo Bonelli said: “On Oct. 7, AVS condemned Hamas, but what happened next is something unacceptable. (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu committed crimes against humanity. He banned the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza. We saw it with our own eyes.”

"We find ourselves faced with a situation that we clearly define as crimes against humanity. This does not mean that we are antisemitic, the value of human life comes before everything. Sanctioning those responsible is a necessary action,” he added.

Revealing that they collected some 150,000 signatures demanding the government declare Netanyahu and support ICC, Bonelli noted they also ask the government to formally recognize Palestine as a state.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 Hamas attack despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 36,400 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, the vast majority being women and children, and over 82,600 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Nearly eight months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which in its latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.