Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni criticised an aid flotilla intercepted off Gaza by the Israeli military, saying on Thursday the activists' mission and a strike called in their support in Italy would do nothing to help Palestinians.
Israeli forces have boarded dozens of ships carrying hundreds of activists, including about 40 Italians, as they attempted to breach a maritime blockade of the Gaza Strip.
Italian unions called a general strike for Friday in solidarity with the flotilla, while protests sprang up in a number of cities after news spread late on Wednesday that the ships were being halted.
Speaking on the sidelines of a European Union summit in Copenhagen, Meloni sarcastically suggested the planned strike was simply an excuse for unionists to have a nice weekend break.
"I would have expected that at least on such an important issue they would not have called a general strike on a Friday, because a long weekend and revolution don't go together," she said.
"I continue to believe that all of this brings no benefit to the people of Palestine," Meloni told reporters.
"On the other hand, it seems to me that it will bring many inconveniences to the Italian people," she added, referring to Friday's strike, as well as pro-Palestinian protests previously called for Saturday.
Italian unions have accused the government of not putting pressure on Israel to halt the war and to allow unfettered aid access into Gaza.
Addressing parliament on Thursday, Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Rome had backed Israel's right to self-defence.
However, he reiterated that Israeli operations in Gaza had gone beyond self-defence and had violated humanitarian law.
"Gaza is not Hamas. Palestinians are not Hamas," he said.
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The European Union and South American bloc Mercosur have signed a long-awaited free trade agreement in Paraguay, opening the way for what would become the EU’s largest-ever trade deal.
A railway power outage in Tokyo disrupted the morning commute for roughly 673,000 passengers on Friday (16 January) as two main lines with some of the world's busiest stations were halted after reports of a fire.
The Turkish Defence Ministry has voiced its support for recent military operations by Syrian government forces against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which enjoy the support of the United States.
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Armenia has reaffirmed that it has no intention of taking any actions directed against Iran, with senior officials stressing that relations with Tehran remain friendly and constructive.
Russian President Vladimir Putin held separate calls with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on 16 January, offering Russia’s help to mediate tensions and promote dialogue in the Middle East.
Leaders from several countries have received invitations to join a so-called U.S.-led ‘Board of Peace’, an initiative that would initially aim to end the conflict in Gaza before expanding to address other global disputes, diplomats said on Saturday.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Saturday (17 January) that concerns over security in Greenland should be addressed within the framework of NATO, describing a ground military intervention as highly unlikely.
The European Union has called an emergency meeting of its ambassadors after U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to impose escalating tariffs on European allies unless the United States is allowed to buy Greenland.
The European Union and South American bloc Mercosur have signed a long-awaited free trade agreement in Paraguay, opening the way for what would become the EU’s largest-ever trade deal.
Israel said on Saturday that the Trump administration’s announcement on the composition of a new Gaza executive board was made without coordination and contradicts Israeli government policy.
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