Nov. 8 (UPI) — G7 foreign ministers meeting in Japan issued a statement Wednesday calling for “humanitarian pauses” in Israel’s military offensive against Gaza to allow aid in, civilians to get out of harm’s way and the freeing of hostages.
The communique stressed that urgent action was necessary to address what the leaders, including U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, said was a “deteriorating humanitarian crisis” in Gaza.
The leaders did not, however, call for a cease-fire.
“All parties must allow unimpeded humanitarian support for civilians, including food, water, medical care, fuel and shelter and access for humanitarian workers. We support humanitarian pauses and corridors to facilitate urgently needed assistance, civilian movement and the release of hostages. Foreign nationals must also be allowed to continue to depart,” the statement read.
The ministers also underlined that civilians must be protected and international law, in particular international humanitarian law, must be adhered to.
They added that they condemned “unequivocally” the Oct. 7 terror attacks by Hamas and others across Israel, as well as ongoing missile strikes against Israel, and emphasized its right to defend itself in accordance with international law.
However, they warned that a rise in extremist settler violence against Palestinians was unacceptable, undermined security in the West Bank and threatened prospects for a longer term peace, namely a two-state solution with Israel and a Palestinian state, to which G7 members were committed to making a reality.
Speaking to reporters after the ministers’ meeting, Blinken challenged those calling for an immediate cease-fire to address the problem that it would leave Hamas with the capacity to fulfill its stated intention of repeating the atrocities of Oct. 7 “again and again.”
The only way forward, he said, was to begin creating the conditions for a “durable peace and security.”
Blinken stressed “no forcible displacement of Palestinians from Gaza” would be a non-negotiable principle of any such plan, “not now, not after the war.”
However, he also said that under no circumstance would Gaza be permitted to be used as a base for terrorism and the plan would have to include guarantees against the risk of the West Bank emerging as a platform for terrorists.
Other conditions include maintaining Gaza’s existing territorial borders and no future blockades.
Blinken also ruled out Israel reoccupying the territory, which flew in the face of suggestions by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday that the country would assume control for an “indefinite period” after Israel’s military objectives were achieved.
