Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni on Monday said reticence in remembering and condemning the Hamas attacks in Israel "betrays hidden and widespread antisemitism" in a statement to mark the first anniversary of the deadly October 7 operation.
"Remembering and condemning forcefully what happened a year ago is not a mere ritual, but the prerequisite of any political action that we must conduct to restore peace in the Middle East, because the reticence we increasingly meet in doing so betrays a hidden and widespread antisemitism that needs to concern all.
"And public demonstrations of the last few days have, unfortunately, confirmed this", noted the premier.
Meloni also highlighted Israel's legitimate right to defend itself as well as the need for the country to respect international humanitarian law.
"On this day, we stress the legitimate right of Israel to defend itself and live safely within its borders, but also the need for this to be exercised in the respect of international humanitarian law", said Meloni.
"We cannot, in fact, remain insensitive in front of the huge tribute of innocent civilian victims in Gaza", noted the premier, adding they were "twice victims: first of the cynicism of Hamas, which uses them as human shields, and then of Israeli military operations".
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