Is Italy sending weapons to Israel for the war against Hamas? Giuseppe Conte, leader of the 5 Star Movement, which brought the case to the agenda, accused the Meloni government of supplying weapons to the Jewish state in his speech in Parliament and directly addressed Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, asking him to “have the courage to suspend the situation.” Conte said, as my government and others have done in other contexts, arms exports to Israel. We do not want Italy’s indelible name and cowardice to be on these bombs. “Not in our name.”
Make a ceasefire now: Stop the massacre in Gaza! Meloni Government, Minister Tajani, take courage: immediately suspend the supply of Italian weapons to Israel. https://t.co/6SPK4yMatK
— Giuseppe Conte (@GiuseppeConteIT) 15 November 2023
In fact, Giuseppe Conte’s words contradicted the data announced by Defense Minister Guido Crosetto and confirmed in reports reviewed by Today.it. Let’s see what it was and what weapons Italy sent to Israel.
Italy’s weapons to Israel in the war against Hamas
Italy and Israel are partners in the arms trade, but since the Hamas attack on October 7 and the worsening of clashes with Israeli forces, our country has cut off all supplies. The reason is sought in the laws and institutions that regulate the issue. The Weapons Materiel Authorization Unit (UAMA) of the Department of State is the government authority responsible for controlling the export and import of weapons. Activity 9 July 1990, n. 185, which defines the rules on “control of the export, import and transit of military materials”.
The answer to the question raised by Giuseppe Conte can be found in paragraph 6 of article 1, which prohibits the export and transit of military supplies in the following cases:
- Without prejudice to compliance with the international obligations of Italy or various decisions of the Council of Ministers taken upon the advice of the Chambers, contrary to the principles contained in Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, regarding countries in armed conflict;
- For countries whose policies conflict with the principles in Article 11 of the Constitution;
- For countries where a full or partial embargo on war materials has been declared by the United Nations or the European Union (EU);
- Against countries whose governments are responsible for serious violations of international human rights conventions identified by the competent bodies of the United Nations, the EU or the Council of Europe;
- For countries receiving aid from Italy in accordance with the law, 26 February 1987, n. 49 should allocate resources exceeding the country’s defense needs to their military budgets; Aid to these countries has been suspended in accordance with the same law, except for aid to the public in cases of disasters and natural disasters.
In this case, the first point is valid: after October 7, Israel is a country in armed conflict and therefore Italy can no longer send weapons. Defense Minister Guido Crosetto also confirmed the suspension, citing other data. Before the blockade, the number of licenses issued for arms exports was quite limited: 21 in the previous months of 2023, totaling 9.9 million euros, equivalent to 0.27 percent of Italy’s total exports.
In previous years, exports to Israel were 9 million in 2022 and 12 million in 2021. Exactly in the two years of the Conte government, Italian arms sales to Israel have recently peaked at 21 million and 28 million in 2020. million in 2019. But let’s try to understand in more detail which weapons and in what quantities we are talking about.
Weapons from Italy to Israel
Before the conflict started on October 7, 2023, Italy regularly exported weapons to Israel. As can be seen from the table below, the data quoted by Minister Crosetto are correct and taken from the latest report “On operations authorized and carried out for the control of exports, imports and transit of arms materials”. The government must be in the Parliament. In practice, the executive annually submits to the Chambers a summary of its activities in the field of armaments.
What weapons are we talking about? For example, 25 licenses issued in 2022 for more than 9 million euros are related to ammunition, bombs, torpedoes, rockets, missiles, aircraft, various technologies and weapons or weapon systems with a caliber over 12.7 millimeters. More details come from the database of the Stockholm international peace research institute (Sipri): According to data processed by Today.it in 2022, Italy sold two 76 mm naval guns to Israel and closed an order for a total of 4 units in 2015.
However, the opposite also happens; Italy buys weapons from Israel. In 2022, there were 16 import permits from the Jewish state totaling €9.8 million; This corresponds to 1.3 percent of all imports of that year. According to the Sipri database, Italy has completed an order for 400 anti-tank missiles and 126 launchers, two radar systems and 165 other anti-tank missiles (of other types).
If we then look further back by checking previous reports, we see that the peak of Italy’s arms exports to Israel in the last 10 years was recorded exactly during the Conte government, in 2019 and 2020: as can be seen from the table, the following figures from the 2019 annual report show 28 in 2019 While it was over .7 million euros, it increased to 18 in 2018 and then gradually increased to around 300 thousand in 2014.
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Source: Today IT
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
