Overview

• Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Italy would recognize a Palestinian state only after all Israeli hostages are freed and Hamas is excluded from any government role.
• She announced her government will present a parliamentary motion to set out the conditions.
• Meloni delivered the remarks in New York during the United Nations General Assembly.
• She argued international pressure should focus on Hamas, which she blamed for starting the war and for blocking its end by withholding hostages.
• Italy remains one of Israel’s closest allies in the EU and has declined to follow Britain, Canada and France in recent recognitions.