Italy’s government has announced it will suspend the automatic renewal of its defence cooperation deal with Israel. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni made this decision public in Verona, northern Italy, citing recent conflicts in the Middle East as the reason.
The right-wing government, which has been one of Israel’s closest allies in Europe, had recently criticized Israeli attacks on Lebanon. These incidents have involved Italian troops serving under a UN mandate.
Meloni decided to take this action on Monday, alongside her foreign and defence ministers, Antonio Tajani and Guido Crosetto, as well as Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini. One consequence of the decision is that Italy will no longer cooperate with Israel in military training exercises.