Iran Press/ Europe: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reiterated Sunday that Israel’s right to self-defense should be in line with international law, local media reported.
“We have sided with Israel after the Hamas attacks, and we ask Israel to defend itself in line with international law, protecting the civilian population,” said Meloni, speaking on the final day of the annual Atreju political festival in Rome organized by her right-wing Brothers of Italy (FdI) party.
Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani also criticized Israel on Monday for allegedly shooting inside a Christian compound in Gaza, in a rare Italian reprimand on how Israel is conducting the war against Hamas.
“It seems serious to me that there are snipers who shoot inside Christian churches. The terrorists aren’t there. Hamas terrorists are in the underground tunnels,” Tajani said on the sidelines of an event at the Foreign Ministry in Rome.
The British prime minister on Monday said "too many civilian lives have been lost" in the conflict amid growing calls for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, where Israeli attacks have killed at least 18,800 Palestinians besides leaving a trail of destruction.
"It's clear that too many civilian lives have been lost and nobody wants to see this conflict go on a day longer than it has to," Rishi Sunak told reporters in Scotland.
Reiterating the UK's stance that Israel "has a right to defend itself," however, the premier added that it must do that following humanitarian law.
"That's why we've been consistent - and I made this point in parliament last week - in calling for a sustainable cease-fire, whereby hostages are released, rockets stop being fired into Israel by Hamas and we continue to get more aid in."
Left-wing lawmakers in Paris also on Monday blasted Tel Aviv over the killing of a French Foreign Ministry staffer in Gaza during an airstrike and demanded sanctions against Israel.
Prominent members of the French parliament accused France of failing to take necessary measures to protect its staffer and his family."This act is a consequence of the recent escalation in the region. Unfortunately, more deaths will likely occur," Carlos Martens Bilongo, a member of the left-wing La France Insoumise (LFI) party, told Anadolu.
Bilongo attributed the worsening situation to France's repeated affirmation of Israel's right to defend itself, which Israel interprets as “unconditional support.”Bilongo called for sanctions against Israel and equivalent treatment for French nationals fighting together with the Israeli defense forces.
Aurelien Tache, deputy for Val-d'Oise, a department in the Ile-de-France region of northern France, for his part, said: “They kill hostages, our staffers, above all tens of thousands of women, children. How can France continue to support these criminals?”
Another legislator for Europe Ecology – The Greens, Sandrine Rousseau, said: “It is essential to increase the pressure on Israel."
"What is their objective in Gaza? The destruction of this territory? The displacement of its population? We cannot allow what is unfolding before our eyes to continue,” Rousseau said.
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