Gaza, Mattarella: 'Inhuman to starve an entire population'

"The refusal to apply the rules of humanitarian law to the citizens of Gaza is unacceptable. A ceasefire is called for immediately'. Then, in a passage further on. "That an entire population, from children to the elderly, should be starved is inhuman". Shortly before the concert to celebrate Republic Day began, in the presence of the premier and the accredited diplomatic corps, Mattarella dedicated his speech to the international scenario and mainly to the crisis in the Middle East. Harsh words that do not limit themselves to a generic condemnation but indicate what is needed now. "In any case, it is essential that the Israeli army makes the territories of the Strip accessible to the action of international bodies, making it possible to resume full humanitarian assistance to the people".

Definitions, perhaps, are of little use when the images and news speak of thousands of dead children, but the Head of State, after recalling 'the bloody attack by Hamas and the kidnapping of hostages that must be freed immediately', dwells on the 'drama' unfolding in Gaza. And he insists not only on aid but on what has been happening for some time in the territories. "The erosion of the territories allocated to the Palestinian National Authority is serious. Palestinians have a right to their home within certain borders'. A crucial issue but also for the survival of Israel itself, Mattarella points out.

The head of state's reasoning is that the prospect of land for the Palestinians is "inseparable" from the "security of Israel" seriously threatened by the "sowing of suffering and resentment produced by what is happening". In short, Mattarella seems to be saying that it is not with brutal deterrence that Israelis are protected. On the contrary. In addition, 'there is a high level of concern about the manifestations of anti-Semitism that are resurfacing in the world'.

It must be said that he began his speech by starting with Ukraine and recalling that it has been resisting Putin's aggression for more than three years. "In confirming our firm and unwavering support for Kiev, we continue to work so that a just, comprehensive and lasting peace can be achieved". But what is happening in Kiev can be found, then, in what is happening in the Middle East and "as everywhere, on any Continent". And that is that "the illegal occupation of another country's territories cannot be presented as a security measure: one runs the risk of entering the terrain of the will to dominate, of barbarism in international life". In fact, even the Russian invasion was presented as an act of defence and not aggression: a reversal of logic and relations between states. So much so that, says Mattarella, these 'theatres of instability facilitated by violence and confrontation seem, for some, to have become the measure of international relations'.

Here, in the face of the scenarios just described, peace is the only horizon that eludes even those who promise it and say they are committed to it. But above all, the Head of State emphasises that 'peace is not an ideal for naive souls, crushed later by the severe judgment of history', and recalls how farsighted statesmen were able to conceive it and now 'the work must be continued, it cannot be limited to evoking it'. Act, then, but in which direction? That of a return to a global order based on international law that is respected and not violated. "The world order that we have known for decades appears compromised. Rules are bound to evolve but a framework, a global order, based on mutual respect and recognition, is essential to avert conflicts'.