MILAN, Italy — Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Saturday that recognizing a Palestinian state before it is established could be counterproductive.

“I am very much in favor of the State of Palestine, but I am not in favor of recognizing it prior to establishing it,” Meloni told Italian daily La Repubblica.

“If something that doesn’t exist is recognized on paper, the problem could appear to be solved when it isn’t,” Meloni added.

France’s announced decision to recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in September drew condemnation from Israel and the United States, amid the war in Gaza between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.

According to sources familiar with the matter, Israel’s warnings to France have ranged from scaling back intelligence sharing to complicating Paris’ regional initiatives — with several ministers urging the annexation of the West Bank.

France, home to Europe’s largest Jewish and Muslim communities, will become the first major Western country to recognize a Palestinian state, potentially giving greater momentum to a movement so far dominated by smaller nations that are generally more critical of Israel.

On Friday, Italian Foreign Minister Antoni Tajani........

© The Times of Israel