"No to the forced displacement of Palestinians out of Gaza now or 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 US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, spoke with unusual clarity yesterday in Tokyo, as part 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 a month, due to Israel's mainly aerial retaliation to the Hamas raid. The claim does not amount to a ceasefire and does not go much beyond Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's resignation that the guns may fall 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 stoppage will be enough to establish a safe corridor, which will allow the immediate entry of first aid. "Gaza cannot continue to be ruled by Hamas, because it would open its doors to another October 7," said Blinken. "But it is also clear that Israel cannot occupy Gaza," he added, even leaving the door open to a transition period.
The heads of the G-7 diplomacy 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, the United States, France, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom) could agree on a position, given the different sensitivities. The Japanese Foreign Minister and host, Yoko Kamikawa, acknowledged the "extraordinary frankness" and "intensity" with which their counterparts asserted their views during the dinner on Tuesday and yesterday itself.
Inevitably, the G-7 foreign ministers reiterated that a "two-state" solution, with a "viable Palestinian state alongside Israel" is "the only way to a just and lasting peace." However, none of them has taken the first step, which would consist of recognizing Palestine, as most States in the world have done.
Japan, the country that holds the rotating presidency of the G-7, has during the last month been much more cautious than the rest of the countries in the group, devoted to 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 for a humanitarian pause in the United Nations Security Council, along with France. However, a few days later he abstained in the vote in favor of an immediate ceasefire, which was opposed by Washington and which again received 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.
