The Italian associations AssoPacePalestina, A Buon Diritto, ATTAC, ARCI, ACLI, Pax Christi and Un Ponte Per, together with Palestinian Hala Abulebdeh, have filed an appeal with the Rome Civil Court against Leonardo Spa, requesting the annulment of all contracts between the Italian company and the State of Israel. At the same time, a campaign was launched in support of the legal action In the name of law! – Put your hands down, Leonardo!. This initiative marks a new split between the position of the government, an ally of Tel Aviv, and the position of civil society, which recognizes Israel as a genocidal state, whose crimes are also committed thanks to weapons supplied by our country.
According to those who support it, the legal action is a potentially revolutionary initiative. “It is unacceptable that state-owned companies continue to supply weapons to Israel,” said Camilla Silotti, spokesperson for the A Buon Diritto association. According to the lawyers representing the parties to the appeal – Luca Saltalamacchia, Veronica Dini, Michele Carducci and Antonello Ciervo – the contract for the sale of weapons and war services between Leonardo and Israel should be considered null and void. Such agreements actually represent contribution to international crimes committed by the IDFarmed wing of the state of Israel.
To support this thesis there is Law of 9 July 1990, n. 185, which regulates the arms trade in Italy, and article 11 of the Constitution, which stipulates the renunciation of war. Additionally, the 2013 UN Treaty on Arms Trafficking, which entered into Italian law with constitutional status, prohibits exporting countries from allowing arms sales if there is a “clear” risk that the weapons could be used for international crimes. According to the report of the independent Commission of the Human Rights Council, Israel’s actions against the Palestinian people are effectively a genocidetherefore it is an international crime.
Research into commercial relations between Leonardo and Israel has reconstructed a detailed picture of the direct involvement of the company’s products in the conflict. “We are talking about planes and helicopters trained by pilots who have been bombing the Gaza Strip since October 2023”, explained lawyer Luca Saltalamacchia. “Leonardo produces F-35 components, radar, two axle truck, super fast cannon for the Israeli Navy and GBU-39 bomb fins, which were used in numerous massacres, including attacks on schools and civilians.”
According to Antonello Ciervo, sales of the product have generated a Increase in nominal value of Leonardo shares by 200%. from October 8, 2023 to today. Because the Italian state owns around 30% of Leonardo’s shares, this legal action is a call from civil society to demand justice from the government. Arming Israel means, according to the petitioners, triggering the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people and involved in genocide. Requesting the cancellation of the contract between Leonardo and the state of Israel means asking the judiciary to enforce those rights against commercial interests. The President of ARCI, Raffaella Bollini, underlined the importance of this call: «Defending the right to justice means defending the only power of those who have no power».
