Berlusconi in Jerusalem, the Closest Friend of Israel in EU

JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Wednesday, February the 3rd 2010, pledged Italy's firm support for Israel, urging "effective sanctions" against its arch-foe Iran and speaking out against a damning UN report on the Gaza war.

In a speech before parliament, Berlusconi said Israel "is not only the biggest example of democracy and liberty in the Middle East, but the only example."

"Today the security of Israel... is for us Italians an ethical and moral imperative," he said before a special session of the Knesset.

"Italy is proud of its many gestures of solidarity towards your country... such as our vote against the Goldstone report, which sought to criminalise Israel for responding to the rockets Hamas fired from Gaza," he said, according to a written copy of his remarks.

He was referring to a UN fact finding report that was released in September and accused both Israel and Palestinian militant groups of war crimes during the 22-day war in December 2008-January 2009.

On the issue of Israel's arch-foe Iran, Berlusconi called for "resolute negotiations" and "effective sanctions" over Tehran's controversial nuclear programme, adding that the international community must seek iron-clad guarantees from the Islamic Republic.

"The entire international community must decide to state clearly, unequivocally and unanimously that it is unacceptable that nuclear weapons should be in the hands of a state whose leaders have openly proclaimed the will to destroy Israel and have denied both the Holocaust and the legitimacy of the Jewish state," he said.

Widely considered to be the sole if undeclared nuclear power in the Middle East, Israel along with the West suspects Iran of trying to develop atomic weapons under the guise of its nuclear programme, a charge Tehran denies.

Israel considers the Islamic Republic its top enemy due to repeated statements by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad questioning the scale of the Holocaust and saying the Jewish state was doomed to be "wiped off the map."

At a planned meeting with president Mahmud Abbas later on Wednesday, Berlusconi said he would urge the Palestinian leader to restart peace negotiations with Israel.

Italy has always supported the two-state solution, "one Jewish and the other Palestinian, living in peace and security alongside each other," he said.

Berlusconi appealed to Abbas to "return to the negotiating table" and to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "confirm his proposals and offers to relaunch the dialogue."

He also reiterated his hope that Israel would one day join the European Union, saying it is "a free and democratic state fully equal to the European democracies."

His meeting with Abbas in Bethlehem later on Wednesday concludes Berlusconi's three-day visit that also included a joint meeting of the Israeli and Italian cabinets