According to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Italy has suspended a defence agreement with Israel that involves the exchange of military equipment and technology research.
Speaking on the sidelines of an event in Verona, Meloni announced that “in view of the current situation,” the government has decided to suspend the automatic renewal of the defence agreement with Israel.
Approved by Israel in 2006, the agreement is renewed automatically every five years. It calls for cooperation across defence industries, education and training of military personnel, research and development, and information technology.
Meloni’s right-wing government has been one of Israel’s closest allies in Europe, but in recent weeks, it has criticised Israeli attacks on Lebanon.
Tensions between the two countries have risen over the past week after the Italian government accused Israeli forces of firing warning shots at a convoy of Italian peacekeepers in Lebanon. Italy summoned Israel’s Ambassador in protest over the incident, which damaged at least one vehicle and caused no injuries.
On Monday, Israel summoned Italy’s Ambassador after comments by Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani that condemned “unacceptable attacks” on Lebanese civilians by Israeli forces. Tajani, who is also Deputy Prime Minister, was in Beirut on Monday for talks with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi. He later wrote on X that he was there to “convey Italy’s solidarity following Israel’s unacceptable attacks against the civilian population.”
With many Italians taking to the streets to denounce Israel over the last two-and-a-half years since the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre and ensuing war in Gaza, Meloni’s right-wing government has been under pressure over its position on the conflict.
In September, Meloni said at the UN that Italy would back some European Union sanctions against Israel over the war in the Gaza Strip, saying that Israel’s actions had crossed a line “violating humanitarian norms, causing a slaughter of civilians.”
According to a source in its Defense Ministry and Italian media, during the US-Israel war against Iran, Italy refused to allow some American aircraft headed to the Middle East on a combat mission to land at its Sigonella base.
This refusal became the target of US President Donald Trump’s ire on Tuesday, when he criticized Meloni for her unwillingness to help in the Iran war, in an interview with an Italian newspaper. “I’m shocked at her,” he said, “I thought she had courage, but I was wrong,” he said of his political ally in the interview.
Israel’s Opposition Leader Lambasts Netanyahu After Italy Suspends Renewal Of Defence Agreement
Israel’s main opposition leader, Yair Lapid said that Italy’s decision to suspend automatic renewal of a defence agreement with Israel is “yet another embarrassing failure” of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and “non-existent” Foreign Minister Saar.
“Meloni is not a left-wing-progressive European leader; she is in the right-wing-conservative camp and understands the need to fight terrorism. The government has failed to advance Israel’s interests even in the face of people who are supposed to be friends and our natural allies.”
Yair Lapid
Referring to this year’s Knesset elections, Lapid declared, “We will return, we will establish a government, and Israel will once again be the country everyone wanted to love.”
Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that Hezbollah is the “problem” between his country and Lebanon.
Saar claimed at a news conference before talks between officials from both nations in Washington, DC, later today that Israel is seeking “peace and normalisation” with Lebanon.
“Israel and Lebanon don’t have any major disputes between them. The problem is Hezbollah. The problem for Israel’s security is the problem for Lebanon’s sovereignty.”
Gideon Saar
He added that“the same problem” is Hezbollah. More than 2,000 people in Lebanon have been killed in Israeli attacks since early March, and more than one million people have been displaced. Today’s meeting – the first such talks since 1993 – will be mediated by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and include the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the US.
Foreign Ministers from 17 countries have urged Israel and Lebanon to “seize this opportunity” ahead of planned talks in Washington. In a joint statement posted by the UK’s foreign ministry today, the Ministers said that “direct negotiations can pave the way to bring lasting security for Lebanon and Israel as well as the region.”
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