Italy is so unhappy with Israel that it summoned Israel’s ambassador to Italy to protest. Israel, in turn, summoned Italy’s ambassador to Israel and protested.
What is the problem between Israel and Italy?
The problem began when Israeli troops fired at an Italian convoy on a peacekeeping mission in Lebanon. The convoy was under the United Nations (UN).
Israel’s counter-protest was in response to remarks by Italy’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani. Tajani had said it was unacceptable that Israel was aiming attacks on civilians inside Lebanon.
How Important is Israel’s Friendship with Italy?
At present, Israel does not have that many friends. Many European countries that have sided with successive regimes in the past pulled back between 2023 and 2025. They felt that Netanyahu’s regime had crossed the line during that period by committing genocide.
The regime went on a killing spree, massacring more than 72,000 inhabitants of Gaza. Significantly, many of the European countries that used to sell armaments to Israel stopped.
Italy is now No. 3 on the list of arms suppliers to Israel. It only comes behind the USA and Germany.
In addition, Italy has gone against the grain by refusing to recognize the State of Palestine, unlike many other countries on the continent.
Italy’s Good Excuse not to Renew Agreement with Israel
The Italian population has been against their government’s continued arms trade with Israel. Some have even held protests in that regard.
While the two countries have a renewable 5-year agreement, Italy’s Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, might see this as an opportunity to end it. For now, she has suspended it. The Italian government, through the Minister of Defense, wrote a letter to that effect early this week and handed it to the Israeli Minister of Defense.
After all, it might allow Prime Minister Meloni to appease Italy’s aggrieved voters before the elections, one and a half years away. These voters may have been disappointed when Italy sided with Israel in the war with Iran.
How Does Iran Feature in this Equation?
When the US and Israel initiated a war against Iran early this year, Israel found an excuse to attack Lebanon. Netanyahu extended attacks to Lebanon under the banner of attacking Hezbollah, a group allied to Iran.
However, it appears as if the Israeli Prime Minister and his right-wing Likud party are interested in annexing the southern part of Lebanon.