The Media Line: ‘This Time Really Might Be Different’: Italian Lawmaker Luigi Marattin Says Quiet Shifts Could Rewrite the Middle East Map 

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‘This Time Really Might Be Different’: Italian Lawmaker Luigi Marattin Says Quiet Shifts Could Rewrite the Middle East Map 

Returning from Israel and the UAE, the Liberal Democratic Party secretary says Iran’s waning clout, Lebanese pressure on Hezbollah, and a renewed Palestinian politics could open a narrow window 

By Giorgia Valente / The Media Line 

Italian economist and lawmaker Luigi Marattin returned from a joint delegation visit to Israel and the United Arab Emirates convinced that the Middle East is entering a potentially transformative phase—one shaped by shifting regional alignments, diminished Iranian influence, and what he calls “a lot of hope” among Israelis, Palestinians, and key Arab governments. 

Marattin, who serves as secretary of Italy’s Liberal Democratic Party and sits in Parliament, joined a group of 10 European lawmakers on a six-day mission organized by the American Jewish Committee. The delegation visited Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, the northern border town of Metula, and Gaza-adjacent communities devastated on October 7, before traveling to the UAE. 

“It was incredibly informative and emotional,” he said. “We had a chance to meet with the politicians and the Knesset in Jerusalem, government officials, and security agencies. Even before the trip, I was convinced that the narrative we had in the West, in Europe, was very much distorted. After this trip, I’m even more convinced.” 

A Region in Flux 

Marattin said he was struck by how many actors—across Israel, the Arab world, and even among Palestinians he met—believe the coming months could shape the next decade of regional politics. 

“There is a lot of hope that this time might be different,” he said. That hope, he added, stems from a combination of external shifts: Iran’s diminished regional influence, changes inside Syria, mounting pressure in Lebanon for Hezbollah to disarm, and what he described as an emerging reassessment within the Palestinian political landscape. 

He also pointed to President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza and the wider region, which he called “pretty effective in a sense that it is able to bring together a lot, to make interests aligned.” 

But optimism, he stressed, exists alongside a sober awareness of the long history behind the conflict. “This thing has been going on for 78 years,” he said. “No one is foolish enough to believe that it’s going to be easy.” 

Polarization Inside Israel 

Asked about Israel’s internal politics, Marattin said the country is deeply polarized—something he views as normal for a liberal democracy. But he argued that the international focus on Israel’s far-right ministers is exaggerated compared to their actual influence. 

“In Europe, we gave them much more importance than Israelis do,” he said. “Maybe because of the distortion I was talking about, we need in the West an excuse to condemn Israel. And so what better than using the dangerous words that often Ben-Gvir and Smotrich say?” 

He described those statements as “rage”—an understandable reaction but not reflective of official policy. Looking ahead, he believes Israel’s next elections, expected within the year, could reset political dynamics, especially if Israelis conclude that the post–October 7 moment requires long-term strategic thinking. 

“The decisions that Israeli politicians make this time are going to affect the next decades,” he said. 

Italy’s Role and Europe’s Limits 

Italy, he said bluntly, “can’t do much alone.” He praised Rome’s decision not to recognize a Palestinian state in the aftermath of the October 7 attacks, calling similar decisions by Canada and France “a mistake” that risked rewarding violence. 

But he expressed frustration with Europe’s overall foreign-policy capacity. 

“Frankly speaking, the European Union is pretty much ineffective in the international arena right now,” he said. “The steps now are: who is going to disarm Hamas? When and how? I don’t know who is going to do it.” 

Marattin suggested that an international force would be required but said he received no clear answers during the trip about who might contribute troops or how such a mission could work on the ground. 

A second essential step, he said, is Palestinian elections. “Think how beautiful it would be if Hamas was voted out by Palestinians instead of crashed by Israeli bombs,” he said. “That would be really good.” 

Emotional Impact: From Metula to Kibbutz Be’eri 

The delegation’s visit to Israel’s northern border left a strong impression, especially conversations with young soldiers. 

“They were like 18, 19. They could have been my kids,” Marattin said. “That was very emotional because I was telling them what really in the West in Europe is going on.” 

But he said nothing compared to the visit to the South. 

“I’ll never forget that in my life,” he said of visiting the Nova festival memorial and the ruins of Kibbutz Be’eri. At one point, the group heard Gaza bombings from just 4 kilometers away. 

He lamented what he called deep misinformation in Europe. “I wish many people who demonstrated in the streets of Europe went to that kibbutz,” he said. “After seeing what we saw, I’m not sure whether they would still go out marching in the streets chanting that Palestine should be free from the river to the sea.” 

Antisemitism, Misinformation, and Political Identity 

Marattin said the surge in antisemitism across Europe is alarming but argues it is only “part of the equation.” He sees two additional forces shaping public opinion: 

First, the recurring tendency of some on the Western left to identify with “the small anti-capitalist guy” in any conflict, regardless of the moral or political context. 

“The same thing happened in Vietnam and in 2003 during the US-led invasion of Iraq,” he said. “People tend to use the international conflict for their own domestic political purposes.” 

Second, he said, was a wave of misinformation so intense that it influenced even voters on the right. 

“TV and newspapers told them that Israel is killing kids,” he said. “Why did the information circus take as a source the numbers provided by Hamas? No one in the Second World War was using numbers provided by the SS.” 

A New Liberal Democratic Vision for Italy 

Marattin also used the interview to outline the goals of Italy’s new Liberal Democratic Party, which he helped found this year. He argued that Italy needs a political force capable of defending “Western values” without relying on allies who reject them. 

“Democracy and market economy—that’s what defines Western societies,” he said. Both the traditional center-left and center-right, he argued, have drifted toward extremes and abandoned the median voter. 

Italy, he said, needs structural reforms and a party that “can tackle the Italian structural problems like no one has done in the last 30 years.” 

The Emirates, Sudan, and the Future of Regional Ties 

The second half of the delegation’s trip took place in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, where Marattin said the support for Israel’s security needs was “incredible,” though he acknowledged the UAE does not represent the entire Arab world. 

He raised recent calls to boycott the UAE over alleged involvement in Sudan’s conflict. Emirati officials, he said, denied the accusations and framed their actions as an effort to prevent another haven for extremist groups. 

“I have no information and no proofs,” he said, adding that if evidence emerges, Italy would condemn any wrongdoing. For now, he said, relations remain strong. 

‘This Time Might Be Different’ 

Marattin closed with a cautiously hopeful message. 

“The Middle East is one of the most complex regions in the world,” he said. “But this is the time of men and women of goodwill, because this time we might be close to a solution.” 

He listed developments unimaginable in past decades: an Arab League statement distancing itself from Hamas, Lebanese pressure on Hezbollah, Syrian signals of possible engagement, and Iran at a regional low point. 

“We might be at a crucial time,” he said. “Which way we take is up to the men and women of goodwill on all sides.”