Kyle Patrick Camilleri
Wednesday, 14 January 2026, 20:34
Last update: about 1 hour ago
The Parliament of Malta’s Foreign and European Affairs Committee met with Israeli Ambassador Ruth Cohen-Dar on Wednesday evening in a meeting to bolster Malta-Israel relations and discuss each other’s national positions on the continued conflict between Israel and Hamas.
During this meeting, just three of the nine committee members were present to speak with the Israeli Ambassador: committee chairperson Edward Zammit Lewis, Beppe Fenech Adami, and Mario de Marco. Zammit Lewis said that all other PL representatives were unable to join due to other commitments while the absence of the missing Opposition MPs was not clarified, even though some were visibly in Parliament’s plenary just moments earlier.
While both sides spoke about the desired peace in the region, over two years on since Israel retaliated after the October 7 attacks, no mention of the word “genocide” was uttered throughout.
After the three Maltese representatives all stated Malta’s position that the only long-term solution for peace in the region is a two-state solution, in which they said that Malta unanimously recognised the State of Palestine last September, the Israeli Ambassador, unsurprisingly, rebuked this pathway forwards.
Ambassador Cohen-Dar said that “putting us and Hamas on same level is really not addressing the same reality as it should be.” At no point did anyone discuss the genocide of the Palestinian people. Instead, she said that “they cannot stay next to us” because Hamas has expressed its intention to destroy the state of Israel as a founding element.
“We cannot sit aside and wait for them to destroy us,” the Israeli Ambassador said, in relation to Hamas and the conflict with Palestine.
She noted that this concern lives deep in Israeli society, including in circles that preach for community-building between the two sides, she said.
“The trust is beyond the tragedy. This will take time to rebuild; it is part of the path we must take in order to have peace with our neighbours,” Ambassador Cohen-Dar said.
She observed that a lot must still be done, which involves “the need for courage, strong and probably painful decisions to move forward.” In this regard, she said that the first step to be taken must be to guarantee that no terrorist entity is threatening the lives of Israelis or Palestinians alike.
Edward Zammit Lewis made reference to the fact that Malta and Israel have a long-standing bilateral relationship set to hit its 60th anniversary this year, and that a two-state solution has long-been thought as the way to hopefully resolve tensions between Israel and Palestinians through past revered politicians like Dom Mintoff and Guido de Marco. He also expressed concern and empathy, on behalf of the Committee, on the political tensions in Iran occurring at the moment and how this is impacting Israel.
“We are very keen to keep live communication with Israel and keen on implementing forms of communication of mutual interest between Malta and Israel,” Zammit Lewis said.
Beppe Fenech Adami recognised the “general consensus” in Malta on Israel’s right to exist and defend itself, and mentioned that this Committee was one of the first in Europe to outright denounce the attacks of October 7 by Hamas. Afterwards, the PN MP declared Malta’s disapproval of the way that Israel has retaliated since, as “too many innocent people have died.”
He expressed hope that the brokered peace plan augurs well and emphasised the need for both sides in this conflict to “make the extra effort, the extra mile, to make the extra peace,” before then explaining why Malta has recognised Palestine and expressed support for a two-state solution.
Former Tourism Minister Mario de Marco noted that when Malta had a Nationalist government, during its last legislature ending in 2013, Malta used to attract some 30,000 Israeli tourists per year. He observed that nowadays, this has dropped around tenfold, to just 3,200. He declared that much can be done to revitalise this tourism industry while his PN colleague called for direct flights between Malta and Tel Aviv to be re-explored.
De Marco told the Israeli Ambassador for the necessity of de-escalating matters with Palestinians. He commented that “our criticism does not come from any place of prejudice – we like speaking our minds – though we are concerned for Israel in a time where the Middle East is becoming a burning hot pot.” He continued that the only way towards peace is dialogue while referencing the emerging political uprising in neighbouring Iran.
Cohen-Dar mentioned that the Iranian regime has been oppressing its population for years.
While speaking about the Iranian situation, the Ambassador took a moment to praise European Parliament President Roberta Metsola. Expressing her “deep appreciation” for the Maltese leader, she observed that once this situation emerged, “[Metsola] took a clear leadership position in Iran when others were debating what to do. She took a position, she took action; she did everything needed.”
In this meeting, the Israeli Ambassador concluded that Malta is a great destination for Israeli tourists and here, “they would find everything close to their heart: good food, good scenery, everything you could ask for in a destination, and Jewish history is well-established.”
On diminished tourist numbers, she acknowledged that Malta’s recognition of Palestine has given the impression that Malta is anti-Israeli, making it an “unpleasant atmosphere” for these people, though she said this isn’t the case for the Israeli community in Malta.
On Malta’s official position between Israel and the recognised State of Palestine, Ambassador Cohen-Dar told the Maltese MPs that “the reality from afar is very much different to reality on the ground,” and invited the MPs for a visit to see the situation with their own eyes.
Both parties ended the meeting by agreeing that it is time to turn signed MoUs into action and to entertain a media campaign to paint Malta in a positive light back in Israel, to boost tourism numbers here.