Leader of Italy's Five Star Movement opposition party calls for arms embargo on Israel

The leader of Italy’s second-largest opposition party has called for the Italian government and the EU to move "beyond words" and enact an arms embargo on Israel due to its expanding violence in the Middle East.

Giuseppe Conte, leader of the big-tent populist Five Star Movement (M5S) and a former prime minister of Italy, spoke out against Israel’s recent targeting of UN peacekeepers including Italians, in Lebanon, as well as the number of civilians it has killed in Gaza.

"After the shooting on the bases where Italian soldiers of the UNIFIL mission are stationed, now Israeli tanks are raiding UN bases," Conte wrote in a post on X.

"When will people open their eyes and decide to stop the war crimes of the Netanyahu government?" he asked.

"Have 12 months of systematic extermination of the Palestinian population and meticulous destruction of Gaza not been enough? Are the invasions and deaths in Lebanon, and the attacks on our bases, not enough?" Conte continued.

The M5S, which holds 50 seats in Italy's parliament, has been vocally critical of the hard right government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s close relationship with the Netanyahu government.

However, despite the closeness between Meloni and Netanyahu, Italy has banned all new weapons deals with Israel, while previously issued arms licences are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

While this measure is stronger action against Israel than that taken by other European powers such as the UK, France and Germany, Conte believes that Italy and Europe must go further and cut off all arms to and impose sanctions on Tel Aviv.

"When will the Italian government and European institutions decide on an arms embargo on Israel, on economic and commercial sanctions, and on measures that go beyond words?" Conte wrote.

"Let’s stop Netanyahu’s madness; let’s make serious decisions to impose a cease-fire and achieve a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine," he added.

Italy is not a major arms dealer to Israel, with it exporting 2.1 million euros in arms and munitions to Israel in the last three months of 2023.

Since Israel invaded Lebanon on 1 October, its forces have repeatedly fired on UNIFIL, which includes 1000 Italian troops. UNIFIL has also documented a string of violations committed by Israeli forces, including forcibly entering a base on Sunday.

This prompted sharp criticism of Israel by Meloni, "We believe that the attitude of the Israeli forces is completely unjustified," the Italian premier said to the Italian senate while announcing a trip to Lebanon. However, it is unlikely that Italy will advocate for serious action against Israel, 

Israel has killed at least 42,344 Palestinians in Gaza, the vast majority of whom are innocent civilians. Israeli attacks on Lebanon since the expansion of violence there on 23 September have killed at least 1,488 people.