Relationship dossier
Italy
Palestine
Relationship assessment
Practical cooperation and aid coexist with Italy’s non-recognition of Palestine as a state.
Italy toward Palestine
+35Italy has provided development and humanitarian assistance to Palestinians and has concluded cooperation agreements with the Palestinian Authority. It has supported Palestine’s enhanced status at the United Nations, while not formally recognizing Palestine as a state.
Palestine toward Italy
+30The Palestinian Authority participated with Italy in an intergovernmental meeting in 2013 and concluded cooperation agreements, providing a concrete framework for bilateral engagement.
Overall relationship
+35The relationship has a practical cooperative foundation, including aid and formal cooperation agreements, alongside a consequential unresolved issue: Italy has not formally recognized Palestine as a state. The 2013 intergovernmental meeting indicates sustained official engagement, though the agreements’ implementation and the breadth of cooperation are unclear.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Italy supports a negotiated two-state solution and has provided development and humanitarian assistance to Palestinians. In 2013, Italy and the Palestinian Authority held an intergovernmental meeting and concluded cooperation agreements. Italy has supported Palestine’s enhanced status at the United Nations but has not formally recognized it as a state. These ties combine practical cooperation with a significant difference over recognition.
Areas of tension
- Italy’s support for a two-state solution has not included formal recognition of Palestine as a state.
Key developments
Italy and the Palestinian Authority held an intergovernmental meeting and concluded cooperation agreements.
Italy supported the United Nations General Assembly resolution granting Palestine non-member observer state status.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of the cooperation agreements are unclear.
- The extent of ongoing direct government cooperation is uncertain.