Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has reiterated her opposition to recognizing a Palestinian state before its actual establishment, calling such a move “counterproductive” to the goal of achieving statehood. Speaking to La Repubblica, Meloni stated, “I believe recognizing the State of Palestine when there is no State of Palestine could even be counterproductive for the objective.” She emphasized, “If something that doesn’t exist is recognized on paper, the problem risks appearing solved when it is not.”
Meloni clarified her position, “Being very much in favor of the State of Palestine, I am not in favor of its recognition prior to a process for its constitution.” She noted she had expressed this view multiple times, including in Parliament, to Palestinian authorities, and to French President Emmanuel Macron.
Her comments drew sharp condemnation from Angelo Bonelli (Green Europe). Speaking from the Global Alliance for Palestine conference in London, Bonelli labelled Meloni’s stance “grave and unacceptable,” calling it an “act of cowardice and servility.” He asserted that declaring it “not the moment” or “counterproductive” while “people in Gaza continue to die from hunger and under bombs” signifies “total political and moral subordination to the perpetrator Netanyahu and the Israeli right.”
Bonelli accused Meloni of paying lip service to Palestinian statehood while actively sabotaging it: “Meloni talks about a ‘political process’ and ‘immature timing’ while for over nine months we have witnessed a ruthless war, with over 58,000 dead – including more than 20,000 children – hospitals razed, schools bombed, humanitarian aid blocked, and an entire population condemned to hunger and thirst.” He charged the government with lying about military supplies to Israel, maintaining cooperation agreements, and aligning with “the most reactionary positions of Trump.”
“The recognition of the State of Palestine is today a necessary act to stop the Israeli aggression, not a diplomatic detail to be postponed indefinitely,” Bonelli argued. He concluded, “Meloni refuses to do it so as not to disturb her political and ideological allies: this is not prudence, it is complicity. While Macron breaks the silence and other European countries move, Italy remains still, immobile, subservient… Giorgia Meloni, how many more children must die of hunger or under the bombs before Italy sanctions the criminal and perpetrator Netanyahu?”
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