ROME – Massimo D’Alema, Italy’s former Foreign Minister, has spoken out in an interview about the need for Europe to act in the face of U.S. cynicism, after 60 people died in Gaza on Monday.

 He criticised the weak stance the EU has thus far taken against Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Trump's policies in the Middle East, after the recent Israeli slaughter of Palestinians, which ended in “a barbaric massacre of unarmed boys”.

 "Europe should oppose the US or they’ll prove they don’t exist", said the former Foreign Minister, urging the European community to defend the human and civil rights of the persecuted Palestinian population, who “live in a form of apartheid”.

 Mr. D’Alema, who “harbours respect and friendship towards Israel”, underlined that if it were any other country in the world, such acts of violence would have immediately been indicted.

 He then added: “Europe does not seem to want to understand that this situation poses a direct threat: the hatred that Israel and the US attract to the whole West will lead to new recruits of terrorism, to new waves of refugees, and it will be us Europeans who’ll pay the price of this open wound. The security and economic development of our continent are vitally linked to the reconciliation of the Middle East.”

 As well as criticising the Trump Administration’s aggressive strategies, he highlighted the fact that “our greatest ally” has threatened to impose sanctions on European companies who trade with Teheran.

 With regard to this issue, he said: “the European Union is directly threatened in its interests”, and then concluded: “If Europe does not react, it means they no longer exist.”

 Mr. D’Alema has therefore encouraged leaders, who’ll be attending the summits in Brussels over the next few days, to “show they still count for something”.

 “Faced with Trump's disconcerting choices, it is up to Europe to regain a central role.

 He highlighted that in order to do this, the “West must stop oscillating”, and instead show a clear demonstration of leadership and vision.

 With regard to the humanitarian crisis, he said: “I think it’s necessary to propose sending a mission of international observers to Gaza to stop this tragedy.”

 fct