Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Tuesday that her government had decided to suspend the automatic renewal of a defense memorandum of understanding with Israel, given ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.
“In light of the current situation, the government has decided to suspend the automatic renewal of the defense agreement with Israel,” Meloni was quoted as saying by several Italian news agencies, without giving details of the deal.
According to the AFP news agency, the MoU includes the exchange of military equipment and cooperation on technological research.
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However, an Italian source told Haaretz that the current decision is a legislative measure that reflects a policy that is already being implemented.
According to the source, Italy halted military-level cooperation with Israel shortly after October 7, 2023, citing domestic legislation that prohibits defense cooperation with a country engaged in a war significantly affecting civilian populations and violates international law.
The source added that Italy does not purchase weapons from Israel, does not sell it weapons and does not conduct joint military training with the IDF.
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Asked whether Italy would adopt a similar policy toward the United States, the source said it is necessary to assess the extent of the war in Iran’s impact on the civilian population there.
The source declined to answer whether Italy’s position would change if Israel were not currently engaged in fighting in Lebanon, adding that the matter is a political decision.
Il Libano è un Paese fratello che abbiamo nel cuore. Per questo oggi sono venuto a Beirut a portare al Presidente Aoun la solidarietà dell’Italia dopo gli attacchi inaccettabili di Israele contro la popolazione civile. Rafforzeremo il nostro impegno umanitario in Libano
On Monday, Euro News reported, citing an Italian diplomatic source, that Italy’s ambassador to Israel was summoned for a conversation after Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani called Israel’s attacks in Lebanon “unacceptable.”
Tajani visited Beirut on Monday and also met with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Foreign Minister Joseph Raggi. In a post on X, he said he came to the country to “express Italy’s solidarity following Israel’s unacceptable attacks against the civilian population.”
وزير خارجية إيطاليا Antonio Tajani من قصر بعبدا:
– من المهم جدًّا أن تُثمر اللقاءات التي تبدأ غدًا في واشنطن وقفًا لإطلاق النار وإيطاليا مستعدة لاستضافة المفاوضات بين لبنان وإسرائيل للتوصّل إلى حالة استقرار
– هدف ايطاليا بناء السلام والوصول إلى اتفاق بين اسرائيل ولبنان والحوار
Tajani called for negotiations between Lebanon and Israel and for a “necessary and lasting cease-fire.” He also said that “further escalation, as in Gaza, must be avoided at all costs.”
Last week, the Italian government summoned Israel’s ambassador to the country for a conversation after, according to the Italians, Israeli forces fired warning shots at a convoy of Italian UNIFIL forces in Lebanon, damaging at least one vehicle. There were no casualties in the incident.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar spoke Sunday with his Italian counterpart, Antonio Tajani, before his visit to Lebanon, and among other things, emphasized that last Wednesday’s attack, which killed over 300 people and wounded over 1,100, was carried out “with an effort to minimize civilian casualties.”
Sa’ar also claimed that more than 200 Hezbollah operatives were killed in the attack. Nevertheless, after Tajani arrived in Lebanon, he expressed Italy’s “solidarity” with Lebanon following Israel’s “unacceptable” attacks, adding on X, “We must avoid at all costs another escalation like the one in Gaza.”