Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced on Tuesday the suspension of Italy's defense agreement with Israel, which includes the exchange of military equipment and technology research.
“Given the current situation, the government has decided to suspend the automatic renewal of the defense agreement with Israel,” Meloni said on the sidelines of an event in Verona, according to the Italian news agency ANSA.
The Italian news agency ANSA reported that Defense Minister Guido Crosetto sent a letter to his Israeli counterpart, Israel Katz, stating that the defense agreement concerning military cooperation between the two countries was being suspended.
The agreement includes the exchange of military equipment and technological research, and has been renewed every five years since it came into effect on April 13, 2016.
Relations between Italy and Israel have recently become strained following the Israeli army's firing of warning shots at convoys belonging to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which includes Italian soldiers, in incidents that occurred on April 8 and 12.
Following the incident on April 8, Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani ordered the summoning of Israeli Ambassador to Rome Jonathan Peled to the Foreign Ministry.
Tajani’s remarks during his visit to Beirut, in which he affirmed his country’s solidarity with Lebanon in the face of attacks targeting civilians, also angered the Israeli side, which in turn summoned the Italian ambassador to Israel, Luca Ferrari, on Monday.
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