Hello guys, this is just a translation in English of the report done by Altreconomia regarding Italy's involvement in the Gaza war that can be briefly mentioned here in the blog I wrote yesterday, since Italy is the third largest supplier of military equipment to Israel, following the US and Germany. Consider this an addendum to my previous blog. I decided to translate it because I don't like when language barriers play a role in discovering important things. So let's go, here the original article: https://altreconomia.it/le-forniture-di-leonardo-a-israele-dopo-il-7-ottobre-smentito-il-governo/

Leonardo's supplies to Israel after October 7. Italian government denied allegations

The multinational confirmed to Altreconomia that it will provide assistance and export replacement for the M-346 aircraft on which Tel Aviv Air Force pilots train. The government had publicly promised to halt the process. It didn't go like that.

"Remote technical assistance, without in-country personnel, repairs of materials, and supply of spare parts." This is what Leonardo provided to Israel after October 7th for the fleet of M-346 trainer aircraft produced by Alenia Aermacchi—a subsidiary of the former Finmeccanica—and previously delivered to Tel Aviv between 2014 and 2015. Leonardo itself confirmed this to Altreconomia: Italy has therefore officially continued to export "military material" to Israel even after the launch of the military offensive on the Gaza Strip. And we also know for how long: "For 2024," Leonardo replied, "a total value of approximately seven million euros is expected for logistical support activities for the fleet of M-346 trainer aircraft."

It's important to note that the aircraft in question are not directly used in warfare and are not equipped with weapons, precisely because they are "trainers." The sensitive aspect, however, is that they are used as "training ground" by Israeli Air Force pilots before they fly other fighters into theaters of war.

We're talking about the same air force that has been relentlessly bombing the Gaza Strip for a year, with catastrophic humanitarian consequences for the civilian population. When this figure went to press in mid-September, the confirmed death toll was over 41,000, the injured more than 95,000, the displaced two million, the children requiring psychological support one million, 19 out of 36 hospitals out of service, and six out of ten buildings destroyed. The reassurances publicly dispensed months ago by the Meloni government through Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani and Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, after having changed over time, are therefore contradicted. Tajani had declared in January 2024 that "since the beginning of hostilities, we have suspended all shipments of weapons systems or armament of any kind." He declared: "Everything is blocked." This was not the case. A few months earlier, Minister Crosetto had written on X (formerly Twitter) that after October 7th, the "sales" had been "suspended." This wasn't like that.

We had already demonstrated earlier this year that the government's version was flawed, thanks to an investigation conducted on our website with Giorgio Beretta, an expert analyst at the Permanent Observatory on Light Weapons (OPAL). It was enough to analyze the foreign trade statistics published by Istat (coeweb.istat.it) or the data from the Customs and Monopolies Agency, obtained through general public access. Or simply read the brief filed by the State Attorney General's Office in defense of the government in an urgent appeal filed with the Civil Court of Rome by Salahaldin M. A. Abdalaty, a Gazan lawyer whose family was exterminated in late 2023 due to alleged Italian complicity with Tel Aviv.

The Attorney's Office contradicted the government, acknowledging that, yes, some military material had ended up in Israel from Italy, but only "technical documentation and training courses, where the final recipient is located in third countries, or relating to non-offensive materials." Faced with this evidence, a game of equivocation began: first questioning the reliability of ISTAT statistics based on an alleged overlap between "civilian" and "military" material, then challenging the classification of the product category as "Weapons and ammunition" or "Aircraft, spacecraft, and related devices" (see tables updated to the first half of 2024, showing the main provinces involved).

The wall of silence raised in January by the Armament Materials Authorization Unit (UAMA) within the Farnesina, and then reiterated by Deputy Foreign Minister Edmondo Cirielli in the Senate at the end of May, did the rest. Did the actual numbers contradict the rumors? All it took was to change the story as if nothing had happened. Defense Minister Crosetto did just that: in November 2023, he indicated "sales suspended" on social media, but already in March 2024 at Palazzo Madama—during a question time proposed by Senator Tino Magni based on our investigations—he corrected his position, recognizing the export of armament to Israel after October 7, but only following a careful "case-by-case evaluation" by the national authority UAMA, taking care not to export "materials that could be used with repercussions on the civilian population of Gaza." Tajani also did the flip-flopping: from "everything blocked" in January, he went on to acknowledge at the end of June that military supplies from Italy had ended up in Israel after October 7, but only "after careful inspection." They were said to have been "sent radio parts," verified "piece by piece," and "authorized in advance"—the minister's exact words. He then added that "we need to understand what is military equipment and what is weapons," because, after all, "a radio is neither a missile nor a bomb."

"By exporting weapons to Israel, our country would be violating specific obligations to prevent acts of genocide" – Triestino Mariniello, professor of International Criminal Law

Leonardo's official statement on the M-346 supplies marks a before and after, clearing away months of eyewash and exposing Italy to potentially serious consequences in terms of violations of international law. As Triestino Mariniello, professor of International Criminal Law at Liverpool John Moores University and a former member of the legal team representing Gaza victims before the International Criminal Court, explained to us in May, "by exporting weapons to Israel, our country would be violating specific obligations to prevent acts of genocide and would be complicit in facilitating the commission of plausibly genocidal acts, in full awareness of this risk. And a third state could hold us accountable." This situation becomes even more serious following the opinion expressed in mid-July by the International Court of Justice regarding the illegality of Israel's policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, which violate the prohibition of racial segregation and apartheid.

Upon receiving Leonardo's response, we questioned the Foreign and Defense Ministers. Guido Crosetto informed us that he was not involved in "maintenance" or "export authorization," adding that he knew nothing about Leonardo's specific supply. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, however, had to acknowledge the evidence, while declining our request for an interview with the minister: "The activity mentioned by Leonardo, in line with Law 185/1990, concerns a supply contract begun a decade ago, the remainder of which relates only to technical assistance and/or repairs or the supply of spare parts for M-346 trainer aircraft, which are not equipped with weapons. The decisive factor in these cases is always the case-by-case assessment, in line with Italian, European (EU Common Position 944 of 2008), and international regulations (Arms Trade Treaty), to determine whether the material or technology in question could be used to harm the civilian population." In this case, the Foreign Ministry maintains, "this risk does not exist, as it concerns residual material relating to a training aircraft order, already delivered some time ago. After October 7, a similar thorough assessment was conducted on all remaining licenses still open to Israel."

"Leonardo's statement confirms what we had previously written," reflects Giorgio Beretta of Opal, "namely, the impression that the decision to suspend supplies of military equipment to Israel does not depends on Meloni government, which should have intervened by decree, but rather entirely of the UAMA Authority, which issues export licenses. Simply put, the continuation of supplies for which authorizations were issued in previous years demonstrates that the Meloni government is, in fact, continuing to supply weapons to Israel."

According to the United Nations, 60% of the buildings in Gaza Strip were destroyed by mid-September 2024. This was largely due to Israeli air strikes (as well as ground and naval operations)

A great disappointment remains and it concerns the aforementioned lawsuit filed this year by lawyer Salahaldin M. A. Abdalaty against the Italian government before the Civil Court of Rome for "complicity" in the annihilation of his family in Gaza. On December 7th, he lost his mother, brother, niece, sister-in-law, and sister, all in one fell swoop. At the hands of the Israeli Air Force. In mid-July 2024, the judges of the Second Civil Section ruled against him on the merits, deeming "the alleged violation of the law on weapons" to be unfounded. Abdalaty and his lawyers from the Turin Bar Association had also cited as evidence our investigations into the export of military equipment, including data from ISTAT and the Customs Agency, as well as Tajani's remarks about the "radio parts." "There is no evidence that the government continued to sell weapons after October 7, 2023," the order states, however, which also calls into question the "authenticity" of our sources, which are open and accessible, and the "official origin" of a "thesis" dismissed as "merely suggestive." Unfortunately, the facts, now supported by Leonardo's own statements, suggest otherwise. You don't need a trainer to acknowledge this.