His comments came as he arrived at a meeting with his EU counterparts in Brussels.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has proposed the sanctions on some Israeli ministers for “hate messages” against Palestinians that he said broke international law.

Borrell did not name any of the Israeli ministers to whom he was referring or specify which messages he had in mind.

But in recent weeks he has publicly criticised Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich for statements he has described as “sinister” and “an incitement to war crimes”.

However, Tajani said such sanctions would be “unrealistic”.

“It’s not the way to convince Israel to [agree to] a [Gaza] peace accord in Cairo,” he said.

ANSA