Jurist Italy suspends defense cooperation with Israel amid Middle East conflict, global tension

[Dadparvar]

Amnesty International stated on Wednesday that the Italian government suspended their decades long defense agreement with Israel, stemming from growing opposition of the use of Israeli military force in the Middle East.

Italy’s decision marks a departure from the right-wing government’s supportive relationship with Israel. Opposition parties within the government, Italian civil society, and European citizens largely pushed for the action as a measure to distance from Israel’s controversial conflicts with Gaza, Iran, and Lebanon. Amnesty International spokesperson Italy Riccardo Noury explained:

Israel continues to act in defiance of international law and human rights: the genocide in the Gaza Strip is ongoing, the expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank proceeds alongside an unprecedented escalation of violence, and attacks and mass displacement in Lebanon continue. Any military cooperation between the Italian government and Israel risks making Italy complicit in violations of international humanitarian law and crimes under international law.

The defense agreement between Italy and Israel, which was set for a five year auto renewal on April 13, had established bilateral cooperation that fostered the exchange of equipment and technical data for continued collaboration between their respective defense departments. The agreement stood for just over two decades, with the nations having ratified it in 2005.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on social media that the agreement was nothing more than an un-actualized understanding without substantive content, maintaining that Israeli security would remain unaffected by the suspension. Regardless, the action marks a potential shift by a country long considered an ally and key partner of Israel.

The choice to end collaboration, put forth by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, comes amid growing tensions and global backlash surrounding Israel’s military tactics during its conflicts in Gaza and the Middle East. Some Israel supporters, like US President Donald Trump, have voiced staunch disapproval of the decision. Despite previous support of Meloni, Trump stated that she lacked courage and expressed shock by her unwillingness to get involved in the conflict.

The post Italy suspends defense cooperation with Israel amid Middle East conflict, global tension appeared first on JURIST - News.

Continue reading...

Note: We don't have any responsibilities about this news. Its been posted here by Feed Reader and we had no controls and checking on it. And because News posted here will be deleted automatically after 21 days, threads are closed so that no one spend time to post and discuss here. You can always check the source and discuss in their site.