TEL AVIV, January 15. /TASS/. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar described the two-state solution for resolving the Middle East crisis as an illusion, as he met with Italian Transport Minister Matteo Salvini.
"The two-state solution is a slogan and an illusion. A Palestinian state would become a Hamas terrorist state that will destabilize the entire region and seriously harm Israel's security," he said in remarks released by the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
"Salvini is well aware of the threat posed by radical Islam to the West and to Israel," the Israeli foreign minister continued.
According to Saar, he "stressed the importance of defending Israel's right to self-defense" during the talks with the Italian minister. The Israeli minister also said he thanked Salvini for his "unequivocal stance against the scandalous rulings of the International Criminal Court in The Hague."
On November 21, the ICC issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity that were committed from at least October 8, 2023 to May 20, 2024 in Palestinian territory, including Gaza.
The situation in the Middle East sharply escalated following an incursion of Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip into Israel on October 7, accompanied by killings of residents of Israeli settlements near the border and taking hostages. Israel responded by starting a military operation in Gaza with the purpose of dismantling Hamas’ military and political organization and bringing back all the hostages.