“No to the forced displacement of Palestinians out of Gaza, neither now nor after the war. No to the use of Gaza as a terrorist platform. No to the reoccupation of Gaza after the conflict ends. "No to the blockade and no to the territorial reduction of Gaza." The Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, spoke with unusual clarity yesterday in Tokyo within the framework of the first meeting of G-7 foreign ministers since the war began.
Shortly before, the group's statement had called for a "humanitarian pause", when ten thousand Palestinian deaths have been exceeded in one month, due to Israel's mostly aerial retaliation against the Hamas raid. The claim does not amount to a ceasefire and does not go much further than the resignation of Israeli Prime Minister Beniamin Netanyahu to the fact that the weapons can remain silent for “an hour here or there,” as he said in an interview on Monday. television.
The G-7, in any case, hopes that the recess is enough to establish a safe corridor, allowing the immediate entry of essential aid. “Gaza cannot continue to be governed by Hamas, because it would open the doors to another October 7,” Blinken asserted. “But it is also clear that Israel cannot occupy Gaza,” he added, even leaving the door open to a transition period.
The G-7 foreign ministers also condemned the “terrorist” actions of Hamas and called for “the immediate release of the hostages.” It was not guaranteed that the members of the Group of Seven (Germany, Canada, USA, France, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom) would be able to agree on a position, given the different sensitivities. Japanese Foreign Minister and host Yoko Kamikawa acknowledged “the extraordinary candor” and “intensity” with which her counterparts asserted her views during dinner on Tuesday and also yesterday.
Inevitably, the G-7 foreign ministers reiterated that a “two-state” solution, with a “viable Palestinian state alongside Israel” is “the only path to a just and lasting peace.” However, none of them has taken the first step of recognizing Palestine, as most states in the world have done.
Japan, the country that holds the current presidency of the G-7, has been much more cautious in the last month than the rest of the countries in the group, focused on supporting Israel. Tokyo initially even resisted calling Hamas a terrorist. Other Asian countries the size of Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh or Malaysia do not even recognize Israel, and have dealings with Hamas.
In mid-October, Tokyo voted in favor of a humanitarian pause in the UN Security Council, alongside France. Although he abstained a few days later in the vote in favor of an immediate ceasefire, which the United States opposed and which again had the support of Paris.
More unanimous was the G-7's support for Ukraine, at a time when fatigue is growing among its populations due to the effects of the war on their pockets and after the disappointing Ukrainian offensive.
