ROME, October 14 (RIA Novosti) – Italy is ready to facilitate the peace process between Israel and Palestine if security guarantees are provided for Tel Aviv, Italian Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini said Tuesday during a meeting with her Israeli counterpart.
"The peace process has to be re-launched and the birth of the Palestinian state must be achieved within a short time with security guarantees for Israel. Italy is ready to contribute to this," the minister said.
Mogherini, appointed as the next EU foreign policy chief, stressed that the international community assumed responsibility for Gaza reconstruction during Sunday's international conference in Cairo. She also said that the crisis may finally stabilize should the talks succeed.
Donor countries and international organizations that took part in a conference in Cairo promised to provide a total of $5.4 billion for the reconstruction of Gaza.
On August 26, the Palestinian Authority and Israel with the mediation of the Egyptian government agreed to an open-ended truce following 50 days of military operations by Israel targeting the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip. According to UN estimates, over 2,100 Palestinians and 71 Israelis were killed in the conflict. Thousands of houses in Gaza have been destroyed in the conflict.
