Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni stated that, considering the current situation, they have suspended the automatic renewal of the defense agreement with Israel. Making a statement to the press during his visit to a fair in the city of Verona, Prime Minister Meloni said, “In light of the current situation, the government has decided to suspend the automatic renewal of the defense agreement with Israel.” he said. Meloni also reiterated that he found US President Donald Trump’s words towards Vatican President Pope Leo XIV “unacceptable”.
Meanwhile, according to the Italian ANSA agency, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto sent the letter suspending the Italy-Israel military cooperation agreement to his Israeli counterpart Israel Katz. The memorandum in question covered defense cooperation between the two countries regarding the exchange of military equipment and technological research. The agreement previously envisaged renewal every 5 years and came into force on April 13, 2016.
Opposition parties, unions and non-governmental organizations in the country have been calling on the Meloni government for a long time to stop the Italy-Israel Military Cooperation Memorandum. Tension in Italy-Israel relations has increased due to Lebanon. Italy-Israel relations have been tense in recent days due to the fire opened by the Israeli army on Italian military vehicle convoys within the United Nations Interim Peace Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
It was reported in the press that during the events that took place on April 8 and 12, warning shots were fired by the Israeli army at UNIFIL convoys, which included Italian soldiers. Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani had instructed Israel’s Ambassador to Rome, Jonathan Peled, to be summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs following the incident on April 8. Finally, during his visit to Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, Minister Tajani stated that he went to Lebanon to show solidarity against Israel’s “unacceptable” attacks targeting civilians, which drew Israel’s reaction.
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Italy’s Ambassador to Tel Aviv, Luca Ferrari, to the ministry yesterday to protest Tajani’s words. Source: AA
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