Italian Prime Minister Girogia Meloni addresses journalists in Rome on Jan. 9, 2026.Filippo Monteforte/AFP via Getty Images

Meloni blasts far-right Netanyahu ally for taunting Italian activists – POLITICO

by · POLITICO

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has demanded an apology from Israel over its treatment of Italian activists arrested on a Gaza aid flotilla.

The Israeli Defense Forces intercepted the flotilla of some 50 vessels on Sunday, firing rubber bullets, boarding the boats and taking some 400 activists from 40 countries back to Israel.

In another sign of deteriorating Israeli-Italian relations, the Italian leader announced on Wednesday that her foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, called in the Israeli ambassador “to seek formal clarification” over what Italy describes as “utter disregard shown towards the Italian Government’s explicit requests,” according to an official statement.