“I totally disagree with some of Patrick Zaki’s comments, which have puzzled me and also greatly pained me, I can’t imagine taking away the floor from a book presentation,” she said.

“I respect the commitments made with publishers and I do not dispose of other people’s freedom of opinion.

“The Salone, and Turin for its shining tradition and identity, offer the floor and the encounter, they do not silence it.”

Zaki, who was recently freed from detention in Egypt on subversion charges, called Netanyahu a serial killer for his allegedly homicidal policies towards the Palestinians while condemning the Hamas attack on Israel.

ANSA