Italy’s Meloni On Israel Arms Embargo: “We Have Blocked Everything”

The Italian government has imposed the strictest arms embargo on Israel among any European nation, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni having confirmed before the Italian senate that all new arms deals were blocked within weeks of the start of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza.

“After the start of [Israeli military] operations in Gaza, the government immediately suspended all new export licenses, and all agreements signed after October 7th were not implemented,” Meloni said on Tuesday.

She further described that licenses authorized before the war are being “analyzed on a case-by-case basis by the competent authority at the foreign ministry.”

“We have blocked everything,” the Italian leader said while acknowledging that her government’s ban is “much more restrictive than that applied by our partners—France, Germany and the United Kingdom.”

Pro-Israel sources as well as Jewish news agencies in the West have described Italy’s rhetoric as “increasingly hostile” toward Israel of late, particularly after the escalation of war in Lebanon.

Meloni in her Tuesday address made reference to ongoing controversy surrounding Israeli forces targeting troops of the UN Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL). Italy and Ireland tend to be Europe’s largest contributor of troops to the peacekeeping team which has its command HQ in south Lebanon.

Two UNIFIL troops have been wounded by Israeli forces (IDF) thus far. “Even if there have been no casualties or extensive damage, I think that Israel’s attack on UNIFIL cannot be considered acceptable,” the Italian premier said. “We believe that the attitude of the Israeli forces is completely unjustified,” she emphasized.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi has countered by saying that the real problem is that Hezbollah terrorists are exploiting positions surrounding UNIFIL outposts.