Palestinian Civil Society Welcomes Decision by Puglia and Emilia-Romagna to Cut Ties with Israel, Calls on More Local Authorities in Italy, Europe, and Around the World To Follow Suit

The undersigned Palestinian human rights and civil society organisations and coalitions welcome the long-overdue decisions by the Italian regions of Puglia and Emilia-Romagna to cut ties with the Israeli government amid the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza. In the face of Italy’s enduring complicity in Israel’s grave violations of international law through the supply of weapons and sustained diplomatic support, this decision marks a critical and long-awaited step toward accountability and adherence to Italy’s legal and moral obligations.

On 29 May 2025, the President of the Regional Council of Puglia issued a directive to the management and all employees of the regional administration, its agencies, and publicly owned companies, urging them to immediately suspend all relations with the Israeli government in response to the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza. The same day, the city council of Bari approved a motion calling for the suspension of all commercial relations with Israel. The motion also declares the participation of Israel, or its representatives, unwelcome at future editions of the Fiera del Levante and its exhibitions until Israel ends its military operations in Gaza and widespread human rights violations against the civilian population.

On 31 May 2025, the President of the Regional Council of Emilia-Romagna took similar steps and issued a directive to sever institutional ties with the Israeli government, citing, among other reasons, the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court against Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. The mayors of Bologna and Rimini also declared their intention to follow suit.

We urge local institutions to ensure that these decisions are promptly translated into concrete actions, and call on Italian civil society to play an active role in monitoring and advocating for their full and effective implementation.

These long-overdue steps come as relentless Israeli military attacks from air, land, and sea over the past 20 months have killed more than 54,000 Palestinians in Gaza, including over 17,000 children, and razed to the ground entire Palestinian cities, villages, and lands. The true toll of the ongoing genocide likely exceeds 200,000, as tens of thousands more Palestinians have died from causes attributable to Israel’s genocidal policies of starvation and the calculated destruction of Gaza’s healthcare, water, and sanitation systems.

Amid an ongoing genocide, the Italian government continues to shield Israel from accountability by providing unwavering diplomatic support. Just a few weeks ago, Italy voted against initiating a review of Israel’s compliance with Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which conditions the agreement on respect for human rights. Italy is also the third-largest supplier of weapons to Israel, after the United States and Germany, further deepening its complicity in Israel’s crimes against the Palestinian people.

On 8 June 2025, while the genocide in Gaza continues to escalate, the Italian government is expected to renew its military and defence cooperation agreement with Israel. This Memorandum of Understanding, in place since 2005, is automatically renewed every five years unless one of the two parties explicitly decides to suspend or terminate it. Moreover, several Italian government ministers have repeatedly indicated that Italy would not execute the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court against Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant—an alarming stance that defies Italy’s binding legal obligations under the Rome Statute.

The regions of Puglia and Emilia-Romagna are taking principled action, exercising their powers to the extent permitted by Italian law, where the Italian government has blatantly failed to uphold its international legal obligations to prevent genocide and to respect and ensure respect for international humanitarian law. We call on other regional governments across Italy to follow their lead and take concrete steps to sever ties with Israel and end Italy’s complicity in grave violations of international law. This call is grounded in international law and a foundational principle of the Italian Constitution. As set forth at Article 11, “Italy rejects war as an instrument of aggression against the freedom of other peoples and as a means for the settlement of international disputes.” Italy has already been complicit in genocide in the past century, and this must not be repeated.

Our call extends beyond regional governments to include municipalities, provinces, and metropolitan cities, urging all levels of local governance to take meaningful action to stop the ongoing genocide in Gaza and other atrocity crimes perpetrated against the Palestinian people. Taking the example of the city councils of Barcelona and Bari, Italian cities including Florence, Pisa, Livorno, Milan, Como, Teramo, Asti, must sever ties with Israeli governmental institutions, including suspending twinning and friendship agreements with Israeli cities, until Israel fully respects international law, ends the ongoing genocide in Gaza, and dismantles its unlawful occupation and settler-colonial apartheid regime. In particular, we call on port city authorities to take immediate measures to ensure that Italian ports are not used for the docking or transfer of weapons and weapon components destined for Israel.

As Israel commits genocide in Gaza, it is simultaneously replicating many of the same acts in Palestinian refugee camps across the occupied West Bank, expanding its illegal settlement enterprise, including a recent plan to establish 22 new settlements, and intensifying its apartheid and discriminatory policies against Palestinians with Israeli citizenship. While we acknowledge and welcome the steps taken by city councils, regional governments, and national parliaments, we stress that these actions are long overdue. The time for symbolic gestures has passed. What is urgently needed now are concrete, enforceable measures to stop the ongoing genocide, end complicity, and uphold international law.

City, provincial, and regional councils must:

End all institutional, economic, and cultural ties with Israeli governmental bodies and institutions complicit in violations of international law, including by suspending twinning and cooperation agreements with Israeli cities, until Israel fully respects international law, ends the ongoing genocide in Gaza, and dismantles its unlawful occupation and settler-colonial apartheid regime;
Adopt and implement procurement and investment policies aligned with the principles of corporate social responsibility and ethical codes of conduct, excluding companies complicit in serious violations of international law, including in Israel’s genocide, unlawful military occupation, apartheid regime, and illegal settlement enterprise, including those listed in the UN database of businesses involved in illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory.

Third States, including Italy, must:

Impose lawful and targeted sanctions, including ending diplomatic relations with Israel, imposing banking and financial sanctions, terminating or suspending trade, academic and other cooperation agreements with Israel, until it ends the ongoing genocide in Gaza, its unlawful presence in the occupied Palestinian territory, as well as its settlement enterprise, annexation, persecution, racial segregation and apartheid against the Palestinian people;
Impose a mandatory and comprehensive two-way military embargo on Israel, including all arms, security, surveillance equipment, jet fuel, training, and joint exercises, and stop all export, import, and transfer, including parts and components and other dual-use items, to and from Israel. In particular, the Italian government must terminate the Memorandum of Understanding on military and defence cooperation with Israel, set to be renewed on 8 June 2025;
In particular, the Italian government must not renew the Memorandum of Understanding on military and defence cooperation with Israel, which is set for automatic renewal on 8 June 2025;
Support international legal accountability by cooperating fully with the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

EU Member States must:

Work toward the full suspension and eventual termination of the EU-Israel Association Agreement. This includes supporting the immediate review of Israel’s compliance and voting in favour of suspension until Israel ends its grave violations of international law, including atrocity crimes.

Endorsing organisations and coalitions: