Italy’s Defence Minister Crosetto on Monday in NY to discuss UNIFIL rules of engagement

TEL AVIV, NOVEMBER 24 – Defence Minister Guido Crosetto announced today a visit to the United Nations headquarters in New York to discuss possible new rules of engagements of UNIFIL peacekeepers in Southern Lebanon. “The current ones do not provide security to the contingents, so the issue must be addressed and decided,” said Crosetto, talking to reporters at the Italian embassy in Tel Aviv after meeting with Israeli Defence Minister Yaov Gallant.

Rome and Tel Aviv are both concerned about a possible escalation in the conflict between Israel and Hamas and call on the entire community to work together to avoid it, said Crosetto:  “I am not the only one with concerns about a possible escalation” of the war to Lebanon, “I have found them here too”.

“Hezbollah needs to stay out of this conflict, but it is not something we can leave Israel to do alone,” he continued: “If we do not want there to be an escalation, the entire community must work (to prevent it), starting with the United Nations, the Arab countries and the Western countries,” he added.

Crosetto also said that UNIFIL, initially established by the Security Council in 1978 and which currently counts over 10,300 deployed personnel including around 1,000 Italian soldiers, hasn’t worked. “On Monday I will be at the United Nations in New York: they need to decide,” said the minister, arguing that, “given that rockets have been going off since the start of the war, the mission has not reached the goal it set itself. (@OnuItalia)