For more than a week, the international community has been following the latest chapter of the Arab-Israeli conflict with apprehension. In the field of certainty are the images of the violent and unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamic organization Hamas; What remains uncertain at this time is the degree and intensity of the reaction that Israel will implement in the Gaza Strip. And this could be one of the factors that will determine the evolution and duration of the ongoing crisis in the Middle East. No country can be considered “immune” – the president of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Stefania Craxi, told Tempo – to the consequences generated by this outbreak. One of the reasons why international diplomacy experiences hectic hours.
Senator Stefania Craxi, in your opinion, what are the main reasons for this resurgence between Israelis and Palestinians?
«There is a concomitance of factors, a mix between local and regional dimensions, complemented with a more or less direct interference from external actors who intend to take advantage of a deteriorated international context, marked by widespread unrest and conflicts. Hamas’ act of war aims to demonstrate that Israel is in some way vulnerable, it aims to settle the internal scores of the Palestinian world, further cornering and definitively delegitimizing the PNA (Palestinian National Authority, ed.) but, above all, it aims to make it difficult for process of regional détente between Israel and part of the Arab world. We must prevent these “political” objectives from being achieved, even minimally.”
The conflict began just over a week ago.
What scenario should we expect: is there a risk that the war will last a long time and involve other countries?
«I don’t think time is short. But everything will depend on the type of response the Israeli government implements. Its enemies, Hamas and Tehran, would not care at all if the country became bogged down in an invasion of the Gaza Strip, with a house-to-house “guerrilla war” that would eliminate part of its military supremacy, at high costs. in all respect. For this reason I hope for caution and wisdom. It is a terrorist movement inserted in a network of alliances that cultivates broader interests and aims. Furthermore, we should all hope to avoid regional contagion. It is good that the clear efforts of the entire international community, led by the United States, are moving in this direction.”
Do you think we will ever be able to reach a definitive and mutually satisfactory solution in the Middle East?
«It is a hope that must be cultivated even in the darkest hours and for which we must spend ourselves without illusions and rhetoric. In doing so, we must take into account that the entire quadrant is crossed by very different dynamics from the past, which explore old and unresolved issues.
The same formula “two peoples, two States”, although valid in principle, seems difficult to be practicable on an imaginary basis. We need a new approach and, above all, we need a conscious assumption of responsibility by the Arab world.” Inevitably, foreign offices around the world are playing a crucial and delicate role. How our diplomacy is moving and how will move? «With great balance and common sense. Having as a compass, in this as in other contexts, international law combined with the great sense of humanity and history that has always characterized our country. But I want to remind you that we are also committed to field, within the scope of the Unifil mission, with our soldiers located on the northern border between Israel and Lebanon. An area, as we are seeing at these times, very incandescent, where armed Hezbollah militias operate, acting in synergy with Hamas.”
In light of what ministers Guido Crosetto, Antonio Tajani and Matteo Piantedosi said, what risks does Italy face? «The government promptly increased surveillance and security measures and, for a number of reasons, Italy appears historically less exposed than other European realities, such as France. But no one is immune. Attention is and should remain high. There was a kind of call to jihad for each “lone wolf”. Furthermore, today marks the eightieth anniversary of the capture of the Rome Ghetto… «Memory is a duty, it must always be nurtured and cultivated, in any context. The many initiatives that have been imagined must happen and I am confident that everything will go well, thanks also to our security apparatus and the police.” The pro-Palestine and Hamas demonstrations, held in Rome and Milan, where many took part, did not go unnoticed. left-wing voters and even a former member of the Red Brigade like Francesco Giordano. What do you think? «Defending Hamas is the opposite of defending the reasons of the Palestinian people. No worse service could be done to their cause. If they don’t either understand this… Already with the conflict in Ukraine, a disturbing anti-Westernism has exploded in response, especially in this pseudo-left. It is something well rooted in this world, present since the times of the PCI and has never disappeared. It is no coincidence that even On this front, even then, PSI and Craxi made a turn, heading in the opposite direction.”
Source: IL Tempo
Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.
