14 April – Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced that her government had suspended a long-standing defence cooperation deal with Israel, involving millions in military equipment and technology research.
According to the Italian news agencies ANSA and AGI, Meloni said, “In view of the current situation, the government has decided to suspend the automatic renewal of the defence agreement with Israel.”
Following “unacceptable attack on the civilian population” in Lebanon
Meloni’s right-wing government had been closely allied with Israel. In recent weeks, however, Italy has strongly criticized Israel for its actions in Lebanon – where Israel bombed Lebanon 100 times in under 10 minutes across the country on 8 April, and also fired shots at an Italian convoy on a UNIFIL mission in its coordinated attack on Lebanon.
Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani had summoned the ambassador to Israel on 8 April, demanding an explanation for targeting the convoy. In a post on X, Tajani condemned the bombings on the Lebanese civilian population and the gunfire on Italian UNIFIL troops.
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