Politico reports:

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has suspended Italy’s defense cooperation agreement with Israel as she continues to distance her government from the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran that has enveloped the Middle East.

Speaking on the fringes of a wine industry event in the northern city of Verona on Tuesday, Meloni told reporters her government “has decided to suspend the automatic renewal of the defense agreement with Israel in consideration of the current situation.”

The 2003 deal concerns the exchange of military material and technological research between the two armed forces and automatically renews every 5 years. Human rights lawyers have urged Italy to end the agreement, citing legal and ethical concerns over Israel’s strikes in Gaza.

The move comes amid rising tensions between Italy and Israel, after Israel Defense Forces fired warning shots at an Italian peacekeeping convoy outside Beirut, Lebanon on April 8. [Continue reading…]