JJP lobbies Italian Ambassador about voting for EU sanctions on Israel
On 7July 2025, JJP wrote to the Italian Ambassador in London about action Italy should take in the European Union As the third largest member of the European Union, Italy has a leadership responsibility. Italy should work with other countries to vote to impose sanctions on Israel. We also updated the data on Palestinian casualties in Gaza that we sent to the embassy in our letter of 2 June.
Our letter
Your Excllency Mr Inigo Lambertini 7 July 2025
Ambassador, Embassy of Italy
Dear Ambassador Lambertini,
We are writing to seek a meeting to discuss the imperative need to end Israel’s war on Gaza. As the third largest member of the European Union, Italy has a leadership responsibility. That should encompass ethical as well as economic and defence issues.
In late May, Foreign Minister Tajani gave a very strong address to the Italian parliament condemning Israel’s actions in Gaza. He rightly condemned the continual bombing, withholding humanitarian aid and planned expulsion, all deeply contrary to international law. That strength of purpose was, however, short lived. Italy was in the minority voting against reviewing whether Israel’s policies in Gaza and the West Bank have been in breach of Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement. The review concluded that Israel was in breach of its human rights obligations under Article 2.
Israel has, in fact, been breaching the laws of war since the very start of its he 21 months of war on Gaza. That the Hamas attack on Israeli civilians on 7th October 2023 was a war crime and a crime against humanity, did not give Israel license to flout the principles of precaution, proportionality and discrimination in its pursuit of Hamas, which it has done from the beginning. Since about March 2024, all authoritative scholars of genocide, the holocaust and international relations who have spoken out have concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.1
Italy has the opportunity to regain its strength of purpose at the next meeting of the Council of Ministers on 15 July. It is clear from experience that very strong action will be necessary to compel Israel to change course. We therefore urge your government to work with other EU member states to use the qualified majority voting system to suspend those parts of the Association Agreement that provide Israel with substantial material benefits. Pre-eminent among them is the tariff-free status of Israeli imports into the EU. We also urge your government to stop all weapons export to Israel.
When the International Court of Justice finally rules that Israel committed genocide in Gaza (we believe that is when, not if), those countries that did nothing effective to stop Israel will stand accused of complicity with genocide. Italy would earn universal respect if the Italian government were now to decisively support international law and justice by voting to suspend Israel’s privileges under the Association Agreement.
I hope to hear from your office shortly to arrange a meeting.
Yours sincerely,
Arthur Goodman
Parliamentary and Diplomatic Officer
Annex
This annex updates the data on Palestinian casualties in Gaza that we sent to Mr. Mari in our letter of 2 June.
The weekly United Nations OCHA reports, Gaza Strip Humanitarian Situation Updates, show the rate of killing and wounding has steadily and considerably increased since the joint Canadian-UK-French statement was issued on 19 May. There was an average of 90 deaths and 336 injuries per day in the week ending 2 July, increases of 65% and 117% above the rate in the two months before 19 May.2
A big part of this increase has been due to the Israeli-American Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). OCHA Update 300 states ”Mass casualties have continued to be reported daily over the past 30 days, after non-UN militarized distribution sites started to operate in Gaza, as people approached or gathered near these sites or waited on routes designated by the Israeli authorities for the UN to collect trucks carrying aid.” “The majority of the casualties have been shot or shelled trying to reach US-Israeli distribution sites purposefully set up in militarized zones.”3 OCHA Update 302 reports 640 people were killed and 4,488 injured in those circumstances.4
Replacing the near 400 former UN aid distribution sites with four GHF sites, only two of which are typically open at any one time, has inevitably caused the repeated crush of people desperate for food. Moreover, as the opening times are unpredictable, people start going to the sites in early morning darkness in the hope of getting some aid.
The Israeli army always says the troops felt threatened by the crush. The troops supposedly fire warning shots above the crowd, but scores of people are mysteriously shot – not only by rifle fire but also by mortars, heavy machine guns or tank fire. The army says it will investigate, time and time again.
We know from Haaretz that much of the firing at people is deliberate, and from the Financial Times that Israel commissioned a financial model for relocating hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from the strip. This is a Kafkaesque system designed to break the will of the Palestinians to remain on their land, in furtherance of the expressed wish of important Israeli government ministers to empty Gaza of its population.5,6
All this makes it clear how contemptuous the Israeli government is for the lives of Palestinians, as it is for countries that demand respect for their lives.
Notes
1. https://jfjfp.com/voices/paper-on-legal-characterisation-of-israeli-assault-on-gaza/
2. Our updated spreadsheet making these calculations based on the OCHA data is also attached to our email.
4. https://www.ochaopt.org/content/humanitarian-situation-update-302-gaza-strip
6. https://www.ft.com/content/c0e661cc-55db-4e2a-b17b-a656e0cf6c14