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Excerpt - WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States on Wednesday rejected Italy's call to end the US military mission in Afghanistan over what Rome termed "morally unacceptable" civilian casualties. Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema had told a parliamentary committee that lack of coordination between US and NATO-led international forces are to blame for civilian deaths. But US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack blamed the enemy for the civilian casualties. "Taliban forces, Al-Qaeda forces, will very often use innocent civilians, including children, as human shields with the thought that that will prevent an attack," he said. McCormack said the US mission,...

The Italian foreign minister has warned the West against isolating Hamas, saying there is a risk of pushing the Islamic resistance movement into the arms of al-Qaeda. Massimo D'Alema described Hamas, which has been shunned by the West, as "a real power that represents a large part of the Palestinian people," according to Corriere della Sera and other Italian reports on Tuesday. "Hamas has committed terrorist acts but it is also a movement of the people. For the West not to recognize a government that was democratically elected ... it is not a very good lesson in democracy," he said....

Rome, 8 Nov. (AKI) - Italian foreign minister Massimo D'Alema called on Wednesday for an international initiative to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Speaking shortly after an Israeli tank attack killed at least 18 Palestinians in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun, D'Alema said "at this time there is talk of a new Palestinian government to end the rise in violence and we hope the Israeli government will act in this direction." "The Israeli defence minister Amir Peretz announced an end to military operations in Gaza after this morning's massacre," D'Alema told reporters at the foreign ministry in Rome. "Foreign...

Italy's Jews slam minister's contact with Hezbollah during Beirut visit By Yossi Lempkowicz Updated: 16/Aug/2006 22:56 ROME (EJP)--- Leaders of Italy’s Jewish community lambasted their country’s foreign minister Wednesday for meeting Hezbollah leaders in Lebanon earlier this week and failing to condemn the Shiite group. Riccardo Pacifici, spokesman and vice-president of Rome’s Jewish community, expressed particular displeasure after seeing Massimo d’Alema walking arm-in-arm with Hezbollah deputy Hussein Haji Hassan in photographs published in the Italian press. "Jews view d’Alema’s declarations in the Middle East not only with apprehension but with indignation in so far as he failed to identify Nasrallah...

LEBANON: D'ALEMA, WE ARE NOT GOING TO DISARM HEZBOLLAH (AGI) - Rome, Aug. 17 - The Italian blue helmets will not go in the south of Lebanon to disarm the Hezbollah militias. The foreign minister Massimo D'Alema clarified this, after the arguments in recent days about the rules of recruitment for the Italian soldiers that will participate in the United Nations' mission. In an interview for Espresso, the vice-president of the Council also mentioned once again his analysis of the war: even speaking as a "friend of Israel", he repeated that he considered it "a political mistake" on the part...