10:03
Tajani: Israel has now won, a ceasefire is possible
“There is the possibility that Israel, having won militarily, having struck the mind of the October 7 massacre and therefore the mind of Hamas, may feel satisfied and look more willingly to the ceasefire in Gaza, obtaining in exchange the freedom to the hostages who are still in the hands of the terrorists.” Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told Il Giornale, underlining how “we insist on this with Israel and Lebanon, also aiming for a ceasefire in Lebanon”. “I believe that to reach an agreement it is also useful to accelerate the time for the election of the new Lebanese president”, who “can become a valid and authoritative interlocutor for Israel”, he states, after reiterating how the objective of his mission is “work for peace and to reach a ceasefire in both Lebanon and Gaza”. Regarding the Unifil Mission, he highlights that “it must be strengthened, we must work right now on what we could call Unifil 3′”.
“The rules of engagement must be changed to give more intervention capacity, we will have to do it with the agreement of the parties – he states – I believe that the solution to guarantee stability must be to create a Unifil ‘buffer’ between the Israeli border up to the Litani river towards the north. From the river, still climbing north, the Lebanese regular army. Even further north are Hezbollah. It’s about creating a double buffer: Unifil, the Lebanese army and then Hezbollah. This is also to give the Lebanese state power over its territory, and in this strengthening the role and capacity of the Lebanese armed forces is decisive.” We must, he adds, “also work to define with certainty a land border line between Israel and Lebanon that is recognized by all”. And, he concludes, “Arab countries are fundamental” and “Countries such as Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan can be elements of pacification in the area”.
