The foreign ministers from the Group of Seven countries on Wednesday condemned Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre of 1,400 people, expressed support for Israel’s right to self-defense and called for “humanitarian pauses” in the war to allow aid to enter the Gaza Strip.
The tops diplomats from the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan “emphasize[d] Israel’s right to defend itself and its people in accordance with international law as it seeks to prevent a recurrence” of the Hamas slaughter.
They also urged “humanitarian pauses to facilitate urgently needed assistance, civilian movement and release of hostages.”
The joint statement on the Israel-Hamas war, issued following meetings in Tokyo, called on the Islamic Republic of Iran “to refrain from providing support for Hamas and taking further actions that destabilize the Middle East, including support for Lebanese Hezbollah and other non-state actors, and to use its influence with those groups to de-escalate regional tensions.”
It also denounced “the rise in extremist settler violence committed against Palestinians,” which is “unacceptable, undermines security in the West Bank, and threatens prospects for a lasting peace.”
The statement did not note the ongoing Palestinian terrorism in Judea and Samaria.
On Tuesday, Israeli forces on Tuesday foiled a terrorist attack at the Qalandiya Crossing near Jerusalem.
According to police, a Palestinian woman draped in a Hamas flag and armed with a knife was shot by Israeli security forces after ignoring orders to halt.
Also on Tuesday, a masked individual armed with a knife attempted to enter the town of Ofra in southern Samaria. The suspect fled towards the Palestinian village of Ein Yabrud north of Ramallah after being fired on by Israeli security forces.
On Monday, an Israeli Border Police officer was killed and another moderately wounded in a terrorist attack near Herod’s Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City.
The slain officer was named as Israeli American Sgt. Elisheva Rose Ida Lubin, 20, from Kibbutz Sa’ad near the Gaza border.
U.S. President Joe Biden confirmed on Tuesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had rejected his request for a pause in Gaza fighting.
“I did ask him for a pause. He passed,” Biden said in response to a reporter’s question at a White House event in Washington. “I’m still waiting to hear some other things.”
Also on Tuesday, Israeli President Isaac Herzog told U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris that there would be no ceasefire until Hamas releases the more than 240 hostages being held in Gaza.
