Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said the Israeli government has "lost its reason and its humanity" over the situation in Gaza and raised the possibility of sanctions, in an interview Monday in the daily La Stampa.
"What is happening is unacceptable. We are not facing a military operation with collateral damage, but a pure denial of the law and the founding values of our civilization," argues Mr. Crosetto.
"We are committed to humanitarian aid, but beyond condemnation, we must now find a way to force Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to think clearly," he added.
Asked about possible international sanctions against Israel, the minister said that "the occupation of Gaza and certain serious acts in the West Bank mark" an intensification of military actions "in the face of which decisions must be made."
"It would not be against Israel, but a way to save this people from a government that has lost its reason and its humanity," Mr. Crosetto continues.
"We must always distinguish between governments, states, and the peoples and religions they profess. This applies to both Netanyahu and (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, whose methods have now become dangerously similar," the minister concluded.
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He was responding to Netanyahu's government's plan to seize control of Gaza City and target Hamas's remaining strongholds, a plan that has drawn criticism from around the world. The Israeli prime minister, for his part, claims that this option is "the best way to end the war" against Hamas in Gaza.
Italy has refused to join other nations in recognizing a Palestinian state. Mr. Crosetto defended this decision, saying that "recognizing a state that does not exist risks becoming a political provocation in a world that is dying of provocations."