Euronews
Published •Updated
Giorgia Meloni announced the temporary freeze of the defense memorandum with Israel.
“The government, given the situation we are facing, has decided to suspend the renewal of the defense agreement with Israel,” said the prime minister during a press conference at Vinitaly, the international wine fair currently held in Verona.
The military memorandum between Rome and Tel Aviv had been automatically renewed until 2031 on Monday, April 13.
The memorandum, signed in 2003, involves the exchange of general information between the Italian army and the Israeli defense forces, as well as the regulation of cooperation in sectors related to military technology or dual-use among sector companies.
American President Donald Trump reacted to the announcement in the Italian newspaper Corriere de la Sera, criticizing Giorgia Meloni’s decision. The two leaders had previously displayed their alliance. “I am shocked. I thought she had courage, but I was wrong,” he criticized. Trump and Meloni have also mutually criticized each other following the remarks of the American president regarding Pope Leon XIV.
Tensions and embarrassment between two Mediterranean partners
Groups of jurists and members of the Italian opposition have long been calling for the revocation of the memorandum between the two Mediterranean countries. The Meloni government seems to have chosen an interim solution like the suspension of automatic renewal, a measure not as radical as revocation.
The situation in Gaza and the military operations of the Israeli army in Lebanon have created growing political embarrassment within the Italian government, which has always been reluctant to express concerns about events in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon compared to many of its European partners.
Recently, the tone of the Italian government towards operational mistakes of the Israeli army has gradually softened, particularly due to several attacks on the UNIFIL peacekeepers in southern Lebanon.
On April 8, units of the Israeli army fired warning shots at a convoy of Italian soldiers, damaging a military vehicle that had to return to its base.
Following this incident, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani summoned the Israeli ambassador to Rome to make it clear that “Israel does not have the authority to ‘touch Italian troops.'” The Italian foreign minister also protested the violation of the UN mandate regulating the deployment of peacekeepers to southern Lebanon.
On Monday, April 13, the Italian government in turn summoned the Italian ambassador to protest against the condemnation of Israeli bombings by Antonio Tajani, who was visiting Beirut the same day.
