El Ciudadano
Original article: Italia suspende acuerdo con Israel y Trump carga contra Meloni por defender al Papa
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced on Tuesday the suspension of the automatic renewal of the defense cooperation agreement with Israel, while Donald Trump criticized her for defending Pope Leo XIV, whom the U.S. president had condemned for urging a halt to the war against Iran and objecting to military intervention in Venezuela.
In an unexpected shift in the foreign policy of one of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s traditional allies, Meloni’s decision, discussed with Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, and Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, indicates that the five-year extension of the memorandum will no longer be automatic and will become situational.
«In light of the current situation, the government has decided to suspend the automatic renewal of the defense agreement with Israel,» the right-wing leader stated at the ‘Vinitaly’ wine forum in Verona.
The legal text, signed in 2003, stipulated that the memorandum ‘would be automatically renewed for additional five-year periods unless one party notified the other in writing of its intention to terminate it.‘
With this measure, Italy will cease military training cooperation with Israel, according to a source from the Ministry of Defense cited by Reuters.
However, the Israeli Foreign Ministry attempted to downplay the decision.
«We do not have any security agreement with Italy. We have a memorandum of understanding that has not had substantive content for many years. This will not affect Israel’s security,» the ministry stated in a release.
In contrast, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian thanked Italy’s position alongside Spain, China, Russia, Turkey, and Egypt, stating that «the essence of civilizations reveals itself in critical historical junctures.»
Trump Criticizes Meloni
Tensions escalated when Donald Trump, considered an ally of Meloni, criticized her for defending Pope Leo XIV, whom the U.S. president had rebuked on Sunday for urging a halt to the war of the United States and Israel against Iran and his concerns about military intervention in Venezuela.
«I find President Trump’s words directed at the Holy Father unacceptable,» the Italian Prime Minister stated in a release.
In response, Trump told Il Corriere della Sera: «I am shocked by her. I thought she was brave, but I was wrong.»
«She doesn’t want to help us with NATO, she doesn’t want to help us get rid of nuclear weapons. She is very different from what I thought,» he added, without directly referencing the suspension of the agreement with Israel.
The Republican magnate suggested that «Italy will never be the same country again» and that Meloni’s stance is unacceptable because she does not care that Iran might have a nuclear weapon and could strike Italy in two minutes.
For her part, the Prime Minister, who had already denied the United States the use of a military base in Sicily for war operations at the end of March, defended her stance from Verona.
«When you have friends or allies, especially if they are strategic, you must also have the courage to say when you disagree,» she stated, as reported by RTVE.
Meloni Against Her Allies
On April 8, Meloni also raised her voice against Israel to demand clarification regarding the shootings carried out by its military against an Italian convoy deployed in the United Nations peace mission in Lebanon.
Regarding the aggression that the Netanyahu regime is conducting against Gaza, she stated that Israel’s military response to the attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023, «had exceeded any principle of proportionality.»
Meanwhile, the Italian opposition, through Elly Schlein, leader of the Democratic Party, considered that the measure to break the agreement with Tel Aviv comes «too late.»
Vice Minister Antonio Tajani, however, supported Meloni: «We are and remain firm defenders of Western unity and solid allies of the United States, but this unity is built on loyalty, respect, and mutual openness.»
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