Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Tuesday that she and two of her ministers had been reported to the International Criminal Court for alleged complicity in genocide in connection with Israel's offensive in Gaza.
Speaking in an interview with state television broadcaster RAI, Meloni said Defense Minister Guido Crosetto and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani had been denounced, and "I think" also Roberto Cingolani, the head of defense group Leonardo.
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Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni
(Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo)
"I don't believe there is another case like this in the world or in history," Meloni said.
She did not elaborate on who had brought the case against her and her ministers.
Italy has seen a string of demonstrations over the last week, bringing hundreds of thousands of people onto the streets to protest against the Israeli operations in Gaza, with many protesters also taking aim at Meloni.
Her right-wing government, generally a staunch supporter of Israel, has distanced itself recently from what it calls its "disproportionate" offensive in Gaza, but has not severed any commercial or diplomatic links, or recognized the state of Palestine.
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A pro-Palestinian protester ties a keffiyeh to a statue in Rome
(Photo: REUTERS/Yara Nardi)
The Israeli assault on Gaza began after Hamas-led terrorists attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages according to Israeli tallies. Israel's response has killed more than 67,000 people, Gaza's Hamas-controlled health ministry says. Israel denies accusations of genocide.
Meloni said she was "amazed" by the accusation of complicity in genocide because "anyone who knows the situation is aware that Italy has not authorized new, let's say, arms supplies to Israel after October 7."
In response to her remarks, a Leonardo spokesperson said Cingolani had already expressed the company's position in an interview with daily Corriere della Sera last month when he said the suggestion that it was complicit in genocide was "a very serious frame-up."
In other remarks, Meloni said she believed that U.S. President Donald Trump had come to the conclusion that Russia was not interested in a peace deal with Ukraine.
"In the face of this refusal by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin ... the only way forward is to apply pressure, continue to support Ukraine and to impose sanctions," she said.