Angry at Zionists, Italian PM Suspends Defence Agreement with Israel

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, ROME – Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has announced the suspension of her country’s defence agreement with Israel. This step was taken by Meloni as relations between Rome and Tel Aviv face high tensions. “In view of the current situation, the government has decided to suspend the automatic extension of the defence agreement with Israel,” Meloni said during a visit to a festival event in Verona on Tuesday (14/4/2026), as quoted by Al Jazeera’s website. In 2003, former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi signed a memorandum of understanding or MoU with Israel. The MoU was ratified by Italy in 2005 and followed by Israel a year later. The agreement calls for cooperation across the entire defence industry, education and training of military personnel, research and development, as well as information technology. The agreement is automatically renewed every five years. Relations between Italy and Israel have recently been overshadowed by tension. One trigger is Italy’s accusation that Israel fired shots at an Italian peacekeeping troop convoy in Lebanon.