Israel’s seams with its usual partners in the European Union are beginning to come undone. In the midst of a context in which, to avoid a further escalation in the Middle East, one of the Twenty-Seven has closed the door to Israel in terms of collaboration in the field of Defense. This is the decision announced this Tuesday by the Italian Prime Minister, the conservative Giorgia Meloni.
The leader of the ultra-Brothers of Italy group has indicated that she is putting on hold the renewal of the defense agreement between the European country and Israel, a pact signed in 2003 that entails the exchange of technology, equipment and military weapons: “Given the current situation, the Government has decided to suspend the automatic renewal of the defense agreement with Israel.” This is what the Italian newspaper reports .
Along these lines, Meloni’s decision also suggests a new alignment within the community, where the Government of Spain has proposed suspending the Association Agreement between the EU and Israel – which gives preferential access on the commercial level – due to the bombings against Lebanon and the occupation up to the Litani River. The Italian president has stressed that it is necessary “to continue working to advance the peace negotiations [entre EEUU e Irán]”, while “every possible effort must be made to stabilize the situation and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.”
First measure after the clash over the Holy Sepulcher
It should be noted that the Government of Benjamin Netanyahu had a clear clash between different countries with Catholic populations during last Holy Week. Using the usual tight police-military control to which they subject Jerusalem, the Israeli authorities prevented the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem from officiating a Palm Sunday mass at the Holy Sepulchre. This is the most sacred area for the three religions that in the past coexisted in the Holy City and now do so under what those Israeli authorities dictate.
The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, was the first to denounce this action by Tel Aviv against the highest representative of the Catholic faith in the Holy Land. Moments later, it was Meloni who joined this series of complaints. Netanyahu had to appear publicly on video apologizing and assuring that these were security measures.
It is not the only key factor that intertwines Italy and Israel in recent days. , which portrays the occupation of Israeli settlers in the West Bank, has been accompanied by numerous criticisms of anti-Semitism and falsehood. The media demonstrated that these accusations were false after publishing the video of the Israeli harassing a Palestinian woman.
Meloni, a recognized supporter of the Trump Administration in Europe, also accuses the impact of his first political defeat, by . On the other hand, she also finds herself at the crossroads of being related to the American president who a few hours ago attacked Pope Leo XVI and then published a message accompanied by an image generated by artificial intelligence in which he was seen characterized as a kind of healing Jesus Christ.
