Italy’s Meloni calls for joint investigation into Swiss bar fire, Italy summons Israeli ambassador over Ramallah incident, and more news on Tuesday.
Italy’s Meloni calls for joint investigation into Swiss bar fire
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Monday demanded for a joint investigation involving members of the Italian police into a deadly fire at a Swiss bar that cost 40 lives on New Year’s Eve.
Six young Italians were killed and more than a dozen among the 116 injured in a fire that broke out at Le Constellation bar in the ski resort of Crans-Montana in the early hours of January 1st.
“After what has happened, a joint investigative team, using the expertise and professionalism of the members of the Italian police force, should be formed without delay and without further resistance,” the premier told Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera in an interview.
Italy’s government on Saturday expressed outrage that the bar’s co-owner Jacques Moretti had been released on a bail of 200,000 Swiss francs, recalling Rome’s ambassador to Switzerland over the news.
Italy summons Israeli ambassador over Ramallah incident
The Italian government on Monday summoned Israel’s ambassador to Rome after two of its police officers were threatened at gunpoint near the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, the foreign ministry said, as reported by AFP.
Two carabinieri officers, stationed at Italy’s consulate general in Jerusalem, “were stopped in Palestinian territory, near Ramallah, probably by a ‘settler’ under the threat of an automatic rifle,” a ministry statement said.
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani requested the ambassador be summoned “to seek clarification” and communicate Italy’s protest over Sunday’s incident, the ministry said.
A subsequent statement said “Italian authorities expressed to the Israeli ambassador their strong disapproval and protest regarding the incident”.
Italy’s embassy in Tel Aviv had lodged a formal protest over the incident, the ministry added.
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Italy urges EU to list Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as ‘terrorist organisation’
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on Monday urged the EU to list Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a “terrorist organisation” following a deadly crackdown on mass protests, AFP reported.
Tajani said he would propose the idea “in coordination with other partners” at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Thursday.
“The losses suffered by the civilian population during the protests demand a clear response,” he wrote on X.
He also called for the EU to levy individual sanctions against those responsible.
US-based rights group Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said on Monday it had confirmed the deaths of nearly 6,000 people during the protests, and was investigating another 17,000 possible fatalities.