Report
Exclusive: The Italian government lied about aiding the Israeli military
No one should pretend this is a routine military-trade deal: whatever Italian companies sell to Israel will, one way or another, be used against Palestinians.
The Italian government has lied about its military dealings with Israel. An email from July 1 sent to members of AIAD – the Federation of Italian Aerospace, Defence and Security Companies, the branch of Confindustria for the defense sector – flatly contradicts months of statements by Giorgia Meloni, Guido Crosetto, Antonio Tajani and the other leaders of the governing parties.
The body of that message, which il manifesto has seen in full, says: “The National Armaments Directorate informs you that, during the month of July, the Defense General Staff will hold a meeting with Israeli military representatives, at the end of which a bilateral cooperation plan is also expected to be discussed.”
So the goal is to close new military and trade agreements with Netanyahu’s envoys, as AIAD highlights for the recipients. Even worse, given the carnage in Gaza and Israel’s post-October 7 policy, is that the General Staff intends to sign a new bilateral partnership, although a 2005 memorandum already sets up military ties between the two countries and is due for renewal early next year.
Prime Minister Meloni declared on October 15, 2024 that “after the start of Israeli military operations in Gaza the government immediately suspended the granting of any new export licenses for arms to Israel,” and on May 21 this year, Defense Minister Crosetto stressed before the Chamber of Deputies that “we have suspended the export of Italian arms to Israel. We are assessing the export of materials already approved on a case-by-case basis, provided that no item can be used against the civilian population.”
However, this is precisely the point: wars are no longer fought only with firearms. A glance at the list on the AIAD website shows 244 member firms ranging from IT businesses to textile mills, ex-special-forces consultants, engineering companies, as well as Leonardo and its subsidiaries. In the IT field, the term “dual use” has been standard for years now, referring to hardware and software usable for both civilian and military ends (as the Paragon case proves).
In sectors such as telecommunications, the war in Ukraine has shown that these are strategic assets, and defense ministries everywhere have acted accordingly. It is crucial to clarify this point, because proclaiming that Italy no longer supplies arms to Israel while selling, for example, used electronics for satellite links or military drones, components for drone guidance, drone building platforms using 3D printers, or even fabric for combat uniforms flatly contradicts the claim.
While Italy has publicly joined the chorus condemning Israel’s indiscriminate attacks in Gaza, has deplored the bombing of the Holy Family Church in Zeitun, has voiced concern for Italian aid workers in Deir el Balah and, with 24 other countries, has demanded an end to the war, it keeps doing defense business with Israel.
The meeting we uncovered is likely not the first – the email asks recipients for “any updated information on existing, past or future relations with the country concerned.” We know the summons came from the Defense General Staff (not the Foreign Ministry, as usual) via the National Armaments Directorate. The request that interested firms should fill out a technical sheet attached to the email shows that AIAD has contacted defense-linked companies to pitch supplies to the Israelis. That means new export licenses to Israel – in open conflict with the government’s public stance.
The form itself is nothing out of the ordinary: besides company data, it asks for information on past dealings with Tel Aviv and its firms, and leaves space to add the products offered and to list possible competitors – the classic “expression of interest.” With one very big difference: the form is supposed to be filled in to provide equipment and services to a country which has been at war for almost two years, and whose premier, Benjamin Netanyahu, faces an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The charges refer precisely to the brutal war waged in the Strip since October 8, to incendiary statements by Israeli politicians (Netanyahu is not the only one being investigated) and to Tel Aviv’s daily massacres and systematic strategies to expel Gaza’s population – most recently by starvation. No one should pretend this is a routine military-trade deal: whatever Italian companies sell to Israel will, one way or another, be used against Palestinians.
Israel, although wealthy and home to top defense firms such as Elbit, sits on a small territory with a low population and virtually no raw materials. Without the United States it could never field the military machine we know or sustain the tech industry that continually upgrades its weapons and intelligence systems. Engaged in perpetual regional warfare since 2023, Israel is demanding supplies more and more from partners other than Washington. Italy is one of them. In recent years, Rome’s appetite for Israeli intelligence equipment has grown steadily, boosting trade – see, for instance, the multi-billion-euro contracts for Gulfstream spy aircraft. Yet business and even strategic interests cannot be divorced from who the other side is, and the context. At this point, selling arms and defense systems to Israel means one thing only, and there is no dodging it: it means being complicit in what is happening in Gaza.
Originally published at https://ilmanifesto.it/lincontro-che-svela-le-bugie-del-governo-sulle-forniture-a-israele on 2025-07-25