“We ask the Italian government to recall our ambassador to Tel Aviv in firm protest against the Netanyahu government’s incessant war crimes.”
Former Italian Prime Minister and leader of the Five Star Movement (M5S), Giuseppe Conte, has called for Italy to recall its ambassador to Israel following a deadly Israeli airstrike on the Tabaeen School in Gaza, which killed over 100 Palestinian civilians on Saturday.
“One hundred more Palestinian civilians, including many children and women, were blown to pieces by Israeli bombs dropped on a school-turned-shelter in Gaza, crowded during prayer time,” Conte wrote on his Instagram account on Sunday.
“Every day brings a new massacre, each more atrocious than the last, while those who survive the bombs die of hunger, thirst, and disease,” Conte added, stating that this constitutes “a systematic extermination carried out by an extremist government that justifies every massacre and theorizes a new ‘morality’ that allows two million Palestinians to starve.”
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According to the former prime minister, “condemnations are no longer enough.”
“We ask the Italian government to recall our ambassador to Tel Aviv in firm protest against the Netanyahu government’s incessant war crimes,” he concluded.
Angelo Bonelli, the leader of the Green Party and the Left Alliance, has joined Conte’s call and criticized the Italian government’s hypocrisy.
“Since October 7, nearly 40,000 civilians, mostly women and children, have been assassinated,” he said in a statement on Monday.
“Israel bombs those who line up for food from humanitarian convoys, as well as schools and hospitals. These are crimes against humanity,” he added.
“In the face of this massacre, the (Italian Foreign) Minister (Antonio) Tajani urges restraint and suggests the two-state solution: pure hypocrisy for which he should be ashamed,” he said.
“We reiterate our call to recall the Italian ambassador in Israel and suspend economic and military accords with Israel,” Bonelli concluded.
Elly Schlein, the leader of the Democratic Party, expressed condemnation for Israel’s actions, though she refrained from suggesting a withdrawal of the ambassador or a cut in diplomatic ties with Israel.
È assolutamente inaccettabile il bombardamento di una scuola a #Gaza che ha provocato tante vittime innocenti.
Chiediamo ad Israele rispetto del diritto umanitario. È per proteggere i civili che chiediamo immediato cessate il fuoco e liberazione degli ostaggi nelle mani di Hamas— Antonio Tajani (@Antonio_Tajani) August 10, 2024
“The bombing of schools and hospitals constitutes a war crime, and it is unacceptable to continue witnessing what is happening in Gaza,” she said, emphasizing the need for a European and international initiative to stop Netanyahu.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, leader of the Forza Italia Party, also expressed his outrage on X, saying, “The bombing of a school in #Gaza which caused so many innocent victims is absolutely unacceptable. We ask Israel to respect humanitarian law.” Tajani called for an immediate ceasefire “to protect civilians.”
Ongoing Genocide
Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 39,897 Palestinians have been killed, and 92,152 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
