The Italian government has decided to suspend the automatic renewal of its defence cooperation agreement with Israel, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced on Tuesday.

Speaking in Verona, Meloni confirmed that Rome would halt the tacit extension of the bilateral memorandum “in light of the current situation”.

The agreement, which entered into force in 2016, covers a broad range of defence-related activities, including joint training exercises, exchanges between armed forces, technological research and industrial cooperation and was designed to renew automatically every five years unless one party formally withdraws.

Tensions between Rome and Tel Aviv have escalated in recent days after Israeli forces fired warning shots that damaged an Italian vehicle operating under the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in southern Lebanon. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani summoned the Israeli ambassador to condemn the incident and stress that Italian personnel “must not be touched”.

Government sources had indicated over the weekend that an internal review was underway, describing “intense discussions” within the cabinet over whether to proceed with the renewal.

Political pressure is also growing domestically, with the opposition Five Star Movement submitting a parliamentary question on Monday urging the government to clarify its position on the agreement.

Rome’s move reignites debate over the EU–Israel Association Agreement. The bloc has launched a review of the deal following concerns over the humanitarian situation in Gaza, with a strong majority of member states backing the initiative. Italy was not among them.

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