by Simone Billi
The following text is a condensed version of the speech delivered in the Chamber of Deputies by Simone Billi in response to the Foreign Minister's briefing on Oct. 10.
To date there are more than 1,000 civilians and military personnel killed, more than 100 Israelis and foreigners taken hostage. Huge violence and massacres of civilians. Such is the toll of the Hamas attack on the Jewish state. The reported massacre that has most affected the Italian public is the one that took place Saturday at dawn at the Supernova festival in southern Israel, where for hours Hamas militiamen chased in jeeps, motorcycles and pickups people who tried to flee or hide, killing or kidnapping them and taking them to the Gaza Strip, displaying them as trophies. Witnesses told of violence, executions and rape. Some 260 bodies have been counted so far and an unknown number of people taken hostage.
Images and news reports tell us of bodies abandoned in the streets, civilians killed at bus stops or in courtyards and public spaces near homes, while survivors recounted countless numbers of people seized and taken away, for example in Sderot, Israel's largest city near the Gaza Strip and one of the first attacked by Hamas. Hamas has displayed the tremendous jihadist brutality that it shares with ISIS.
It should be emphasized that there is a great risk of involvement of Hezbollah and, therefore, also of our 1,200 soldiers of the Unifil mission deployed on the Israel-Lebanon border, working for peace and supporting local populations. The heinous Hamas attack was launched in the south, but the risk of destabilization affects the north as well. We are sorry to see the "jumping for joy" in the parliament in Tehran over what is happening in Israel, and we condemn this conduct of the Iranian parliament.
It is necessary to stop any kind of funding to Gaza, from Italy or private Italians, because there is a risk of indirect funding to Hamas. We must stand fully in solidarity and alongside the Israeli people at this difficult time, reaffirming with conviction our long-term support for Israel. Our thoughts and prayers are constantly with the Israeli people. The Palestinian people have the right to a homeland, but the Israeli people have the right to live in peace.
We hope for an immediate end to the attacks by Hamas and a quick de-escalation of the conflict, thanks also to the international diplomatic initiative. The humanitarian initiatives necessary to alleviate the suffering of the civilian populations involved must be implemented.
Terror must not prevail.
Congressman elected to the Chamber of Deputies in the Foreign - Europe Circumscription. Group leader of Lega in the Foreign Affairs Committee and chairman of the Committee for Italians in the World. He holds a degree in industrial engineering and is an executive in the intellectual property sector.
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English
La premessa indispensabile per Israele, ammesso che intenda davvero e maggioritariamente vivere in pace, è duplice: blocco immediato degli insediamenti colonici in Cisgiordania (ormai 7-800mila) e l’accettazione di uno Stato Palestinese non fantoccio, controllato e ricattato come l’attuale.
Se non si danno queste indispensabili premesse, ogni pretesa di pacificazione e reciproca accettazione è velleitaria e ipocrita.
Ho vissuto 3 anni in Medio-Oriente tra Amman e Gerusaleme, con incarichi ONU e EU/EC durante la seconda Intifada, e ho potuto percepire e valutare de visu la situazione, oltre che ovviamente studiarla.