Italy Backs Trump’s Gaza Plan as Public Demands Support for Palestinians

Italian lawmakers on Thursday passed a motion supporting the cease-fire proposal put forward by President Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to end the Gaza war and insisted on conditions for any eventual recognition of a Palestinian state.

The motions indicated the government’s attempt to bridge the gap with other Western nations while keeping Israel as an ally. Italy’s leaders have hesitated to follow the wave of countries — including France, Belgium and Portugal, along with Britain, Canada and Australia — that have recognized Palestinian statehood in recent months.

But opinion polls show that a vast majority of Italians believe Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and most Italians surveyed are in favor of recognizing a Palestinian state. Tens of thousands demonstrated in support of Palestinians last month; as many are expected to participate in a general strike on Friday in support of a flotilla that was intercepted trying to bring humanitarian goods to Gaza. Some Italians, including lawmakers, were aboard the boats.

Ahead of the vote on Thursday, Antonio Tajani, the foreign minister, said that the cease-fire proposal “offered a glimmer of hope for peace” that “could be the turning point that changes the history of the Middle East,” as long as all the key players did their part.

He said Italian diplomacy would do what it could “to support this difficult endeavor.”

The proposal supporting the cease-fire plan easily passed in both houses of Parliament as much of the opposition abstained. A proposal to recognize a Palestinian state on the conditions that Hamas release the Israeli hostages and step aside also passed, but most opposition lawmakers voted against it.

Ms. Meloni seems to have shifted on the issue of Palestinian recognition. In 2015, she called on the Italian government to move toward recognizing a Palestinian state “on the basis of reciprocity with Israel.”

But in July, as France moved to recognize Palestinian statehood, Ms. Meloni said she believed “recognizing the state of Palestine without there being a state of Palestine could actually be counterproductive to the objective.”

Along with Germany, Italy has been a holdout in Europe. Globally, around 150 countries have announced recognition.

Political analysts said Ms. Meloni was trying to navigate between a growing consensus elsewhere and her desire to court favor with Mr. Trump. The United States has not recognized a Palestinian state.

“She works in a very subtle way not to get too far from Trump’s position,” said Gianfranco Pasquino, a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Bologna.

Ms. Meloni is also aware of Italy’s wartime history. Benito Mussolini passed laws stripping Jews of their rights and sent them to internment camps before Germany occupied Italy and sent Jewish citizens to death camps. “We Europeans have a sense of guilt for the Holocaust,” Mr. Pasquino said in an interview.

But public opinion in Italy strongly identifies with Palestinians and against Israel’s war in Gaza. An opinion poll last month found that almost three-quarters of 1,000 people surveyed said they believed Israel was committing genocide in Gaza. In another survey, also last month, 88 percent of the 800 respondents said they were in favor of recognizing a Palestinian state — but more than half of those tied it to Hamas releasing the hostages.

“This is one of the issues that is mobilizing, in an unprecedented way, a large part of the center-left constituency, especially the youngest ones,” said Salvatore Vassallo, a professor at the University of Bologna.

In the protests last month, tens of thousands of Italians in multiple cities called for solidarity with Palestinians during a one-day strike. Grass-roots trade unions representing metalworkers, firefighters, schoolteachers and others said they called the strike to protest “the inertia of the Italian government and the European Union” for not imposing sanctions on Israel.

Speaking to the lower house of Parliament on Thursday, Mr. Tajani said the government was also “ready to evaluate, together with other countries,” proposed European Commission trade sanctions against Israel.

Ms. Meloni’s approval ratings have fallen recently, and opposition parties have called on her government for months to recognize a Palestinian state. “Palestinians, just like Israelis, have a full right to exist and to live peacefully and in security in their state,” Elly Schlein, leader of the center-left Democratic Party, said in an interview.

Ms. Schlein said that she and her opposition coalition partners would not accept Ms. Meloni’s suggestion of prerequisites for recognition.

Even as Italian parliamentarians argued whether to go as far as neighbors and allies, historians noted that recognition would mostly be symbolic.

“By itself, recognition is somehow not something that will change the situation on the ground,” said Lorenzo Kamel, a professor of history of international relations at the University of Turin. “It’s not irrelevant, but if you want to make this practical, you need something else to follow.”