G7 leaders urge Israel to respect international law in its war against Hamas

June 14 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The G7 leaders, meeting these days in the Italian city of Apulia, published their final text this Friday in which they dedicate a section specifically to the war in the Gaza Strip, and urge the Israeli authorities to respect International Law Humanitarian in his war against the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).

“We reiterate our strongest condemnation of the brutal terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas,” begins the aforementioned letter where, then, the leaders of the G7 countries emphasize that “in exercising its right to defend itself, Israel must fully comply with its obligations under international law in all circumstances”.

The members of the group have agreed to express their rejection of the high number of deaths caused by the conflict. After the Hamas attacks, Israel confirmed the death of almost 1,200 people and now the Gazan authorities, controlled by the Islamist militia, point out that the Israeli Army’s bombings have already claimed the lives of almost 37,300 people.

In this context, they have taken the opportunity to subscribe to the proposal presented at the end of May by the president of the United States, Joe Biden, who put on the table a plan for a ceasefire organized in three stages and that, ultimately, would lead to the political reorganization of the Palestinian enclave in exchange for the total withdrawal of Israeli troops.

“We reiterate our call to Hamas to fully and unequivocally accept and implement the ceasefire proposal,” reads the final text of the G7, which applauds the recent resolution of the United Nations Security Council, in which the approval is given. to the American peace proposal, but which apparently had been rejected by the Palestinian militia.

Thus, the G7 has “welcomed” the fact that the Israeli side has accepted the proposal, as well as “its willingness to move forward with it.” In this same sense, the leaders have called on “countries with influence on Hamas” to “help ensure” that it adheres to the peace plan presented by President Biden.

Regarding the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, the G7 leaders have stressed the need to “guarantee full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access in all its forms, in accordance with International Humanitarian Law” through the main border points, highlighting the Rafá crossing above the rest.

In fact, the main leaders have expressed their deep concern about the consequences that the Israeli Army’s ground military operations on the city of Rafah could have for the civilian population, located in the south of the Palestinian enclave and home to the vast majority of civilians displaced from their homes by Israeli attacks.

Finally, the final G7 resolution underlines the leaders’ commitment to the two-state solution “in which two democratic States, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace within secure and recognized borders, in accordance with International Law and the relevant resolutions of the United Nations”. To this end, they emphasize the importance of “unifying” the Gaza Strip and the West Bank under the command of the Palestinian Authority.

“We note that mutual recognition that includes the recognition of a Palestinian State, at the appropriate time, would be a crucial component of that political process,” concludes the letter, in which the leaders guarantee their commitment to “closely coordinate and institutionalize” these efforts