Italy willing to send troops if Palestinian state were created, says foreign minister

Italy's government is willing to send troops together with other countries if a Palestinian state were created, the country's foreign minister said Tuesday in an interview with the Ansa news agency.

"The Italian government is strongly committed to peace, we are friends of Israel but we want to work for peace, including potentially sending troops if there were the will to create a Palestinian state together with forces of other countries," Antonio Tajani said.

"(Italy) has a strong dialogue with the Palestinian Authority, it's our interlocutor. I spoke to Prime Minister (Mohammad) Mustafa, whom I invited to Italy. This shows that we want to have a relationship with the only legitimate Palestinian authority, to work on the solution of two peoples, two states, the only possible solution for stability in the area."

Tajani also said that Saturday's Iranian attack, which saw hundreds of missiles and suicide drones launched on Israel, must be "absolutely condemned."

"Now I hope there is no escalation. From a military point of view, Israel won … but now we have to prevent an enlargement of the conflict, because not only do we have tensions in Gaza but also in the Red Sea," he added.

Italy has warned that any retaliation by Israel for Iran's attack on the country over the weekend could lead to a spiral of violence, local media reported Monday.

"We hope that Israel, strengthened by its military victory, will want to make common sense prevail by desisting from further reactions that could trigger a spiral of violence harmful to everyone," Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said during a hearing of the Italian parliament's Foreign Affairs Commission.

"We demand that Iran and affiliated groups cease their attacks and stand ready to take further measures in response to any new destabilizing initiatives," he added.

Speaking at the same hearing, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said that Iran's attack increased the risk of collateral damage in the Red Sea and Lebanon, where Italy has a warship and troops, respectively in the scope of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) mission.