Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Tuesday (14 April) that her government had suspended the automatic renewal of a defence cooperation agreement with Israel, amid rising tensions linked to conflicts in the Middle East.
“When there are things we don’t agree with, we act accordingly,” Meloni told reporters on the sidelines of a wine fair in Verona, northern Italy.
“In light of the current situation, the government has decided to suspend the automatic renewal of the defence agreement with Israel,” she added.
The move comes amid rising tensions between Italy and Israel, after Israel Defense Forces fired warning shots at an Italian peacekeeping convoy outside Beirut, Lebanon on April 8.
No troops were injured, but the Italian response was swift: Meloni called the attack “completely unacceptable,” while Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani summoned the Israeli ambassador to Rome for a third time since 2024.
The 2006 memorandum, reviewed every five years, includes cooperation in defence industry development, military training, research, and information technology.
Israel dismissed the move, saying it won’t affect its security. “We have no security agreement with Italy. We have a memorandum of understanding from many years ago that has never contained any substantive content. This will not affect Israel’s security,” foreign ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein told Agence France-Presse.
ℹ️ Le Monde with AFP, Reuters, POLITICO
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