Italy suspends defense agreement with Israel

Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni has announced the suspension of Italy’s defense treaty with Israel on the same day she was harshly criticized by President Donald Trump for not assisting the U.S. in its military campaign against Iran .

The two announcements marked a change for Italy , which has been a loyal ally to Israel for years and has been viewed by Trump as a trusted partner in Europe.

Meloni said she was not renewing the defense treaty with Israel, first approved in 2006, which covers the exchange of military equipment and pooling of technology research. The decision was made following public disapproval by Italy of Israel’s recent bombing of Lebanon and allegations that the IDF has fired warning shots at Italian UN peacekeepers in the south of the country.

“In view of the current situation, the government has decided to suspend the automatic renewal of the defence agreement with Israel,” Meloni said Tuesday.

Meloni has, to date, offered little criticism of Israel’s military actions in Gaza, but she has faced growing public disapproval of Israel among Italian voters.

The suspension of the deal was downplayed by Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein, who said, “We have no security agreement with Italy. We have a memorandum of understanding from many years ago that has never contained any substantive content. This will not affect Israel’s security.”

But Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said the Israeli government was losing its battle to keep allies onside.

“The government has failed to advance Israel’s interests even with people who are supposed to be our friends and natural allies,” he said.

Italian voters have also opposed the U.S. attacks on Iran, and Meloni’s government denied U.S. jets the use of the Italian base at Sigonella in Sicily for a stop-over last month.

On Tuesday, Trump criticized her for not offering to help secure the Strait of Hormuz.

“I’m shocked by her. I thought she had courage, but I was wrong,” he told the Italian daily Corriere della Sera.

Trump has previously praised the conservative Italian leader as a dependable ally in Europe, calling her a “great leader” while picking fights with others, including French President Emmanuel Macron.

Meloni also worked hard to be a bridge between the White House and Europe. But on Tuesday, Trump said of Meloni, “She’s no longer the same person.”

In a move that will further strain ties with Trump, Meloni appeared to take the side of Pope Leo , who has criticized the U.S. attack on Iran, prompting Trump to call the pontiff “weak” and “terrible on foreign policy.”

On Tuesday, Meloni said, “I express my solidarity with Pope Leo, frankly I would not feel very comfortable in a society where religious leaders do what political leaders say.”

Tom Kington is the Italy correspondent for Defense News.

意大利总理乔治娅·梅洛尼宣布暂停意大利与以色列的防务条约，而就在同一天，她因没有协助美国对伊朗的军事行动而受到美国总统唐纳德·特朗普的严厉批评。

这两项声明标志着意大利的态度发生了转变。多年来，意大利一直是以色列的忠实盟友，也被特朗普视为欧洲值得信赖的伙伴。

梅洛尼表示，她不会续签与以色列于2006年首次批准的防务条约，该条约涵盖军事装备交换和技术研究共享。此前，意大利公开谴责以色列近期轰炸黎巴嫩，并指控以色列国防军向驻扎在该国南部的意大利联合国维和部队鸣枪示警。

“鉴于当前形势，政府决定暂停与以色列的防务协议自动续签，”梅洛尼周二表示。

迄今为止，梅洛尼很少批评以色列在加沙的军事行动，但她面临着意大利选民对以色列日益增长的公开不满。

以色列外交部发言人奥伦·马默斯坦淡化了暂停该协议的影响，他说：“我们与意大利之间没有安全协议。我们之间只有一份多年前的谅解备忘录，但这份备忘录从未包含任何实质性内容。这不会影响以色列的安全。”

但以色列反对派领导人亚伊尔·拉皮德表示，以色列政府在争取盟友支持方面正在节节败退。

他说：“即使是对那些本应是我们的朋友和天然盟友的国家，政府也未能推进以色列的利益。”

意大利选民也反对美国对伊朗的袭击，梅洛尼政府上个月拒绝了美国战机使用位于西西里岛锡戈内拉的意大利基地进行中转。

周二，特朗普批评她没有主动提出帮助确保霍尔木兹海峡的安全。

“我被她震惊了。我原以为她很有勇气，但我错了，”他告诉意大利日报《晚邮报》。

特朗普此前曾称赞这位意大利保守派领导人是欧洲可靠的盟友，称她为“伟大的领导人”，同时还与包括法国总统埃马纽埃尔·马克龙在内的其他人发生争执。

梅洛尼也曾努力成为白宫与欧洲之间的桥梁。但周二，特朗普谈到梅洛尼时说：“她已经不是以前的她了。”

梅洛尼此举似乎站在了教皇利奥一边，后者批评了美国对伊朗的袭击，这进一步加剧了与特朗普的关系紧张。特朗普因此称教皇“软弱”且“外交政策糟糕”。

周二，梅洛尼表示：“我表达对教宗利奥的声援，坦白说，如果一个社会中的宗教领袖言听计从，我会感到非常不舒服。”

汤姆·金顿是《防务新闻》驻意大利记者。