Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu departed for Italy on Thursday to meet with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni as well as member of the Jewish and business community.

His departure yesterday was complicated by protesters blocking the roads to the Ben Gurion International airport. This necessitated a trip to the airport by helicopter.

In addition, El Al, who is operating the flight to Italy for the Prime Minister, initially had difficulty finding a crew to fly Netanyahu and his retinue.

Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with Meloni on Friday. In that meeting, he is expected to discuss several issues.

Among those are improving economic cooperation between Israel and Italy, getting support for moving the Italian embassy to Jerusalem, and improving Italy's support of Israel at the UN.

In an interview with la Republica newspaper, Netanyahu said, "I believe the time has come for Rome to recognize Jerusalem as the ancestral capital of the Jewish people for three thousand years, as the United States did with a gesture of great friendship."

Italy has historically opposed recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital, until a peace agreement can be made with the Palestinians.

Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, leader the Northern League Party, supported Netanyahu's request in a post on social media.

"I firmly say YES to Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, in the name of peace, history and truth," he tweeted yesterday afternoon.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has been more cautious despite her support of Israel.

Last year, in an interview with Reuters, she said, "It is a diplomatic matter and should be evaluated together with the Foreign Ministry."

Netanyahu also hopes to address Italy's poor support for Israel at the U.N.

"Since 2015, Italy has voted against us 89 times at the UN," he said in his interview with the Italian paper.

Netanyahu said this was in contrast to excellent bilateral relations between the two countries.

"Instead of dealing with nations like Syria and Iran, where the most basic rights are trampled on, at the UN, countries vote against Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East," Netanyahu complained.

Netanyahu also told la Republica that he wants to see more economic cooperation between the two countries, especially in the form of a natural gas deal.

"We have a lot of it [natural gas] and I would like to discuss how to get it to Italy to support your economic growth," he said.

Italy has committed to replacing imports of natural gas from Russia, following that country's invasion of Ukraine last year.

Netanyahu's visit Thursday night with Jewish leaders at a synagogue in Rome turned somber after he was informed of the Tel Aviv attack just moments after his speech, and during the speech of Noemi Di Segni, president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities.

While Di Segni attacked the judicial reforms in her speech as well as recent comments and actions by ministers and settlers in Israel, Netanyahu was receiving regular updates about the Tel Aviv situation.

Netanyahu waited until after the address by Di Segni, and also remarks by Rome's chief rabbi Riccardo Di Segni on the week's Torah portion, to address to audience and inform them of the Tel Aviv attack.

"We will continue to build our nation, we will continue to deepen our roots, and to build our common future. As brothers and sisters," he said.

He also called for unity regarding the judicial reform debates, saying, "We must remember that especially these days, days of argument and debate within Israel — we must remember we are one nation with a common future." He also said that he continues to welcome "all initiatives" to find a solution to the disagreements.

When he finished his comments, the crowd began to sing Israel's national anthem, HaTikvah (the Hope).

Earlier Friday morning, Italian Prime Minister Meloni also posted a message of support for Israel following the attack.

This article originally appeared on All Israel News and is reposted with permission.