The G7 countries announced on Tuesday that they would respect their “respective” obligations vis-à-vis the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“In exercising its right to defend itself, Israel must fully respect its obligations under international law in all circumstances, including international humanitarian law,” wrote the G7 foreign ministers in a joint statement following from a meeting of the group near Rome.
“We reiterate our commitment to international humanitarian law and will respect our respective obligations,” they added, the adjective “respective” referring to the fact that unlike the other members of the group (Canada, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Japan and Italy), the United States does not recognize the ICC.
The International Criminal Court, which Israel has not joined and from which the United States has withdrawn, last week issued arrest warrants against Benyamin Netanyahu, his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and the head of the armed wing of Palestinian Hamas, Mohammed Deif, for war crimes and crimes against humanity. “We emphasize that there can be no equivalence between the terrorist group Hamas and the State of Israel,” the G7 countries said.
A source close to the negotiations at the last G7 meeting under the Italian presidency indicated that the wording of the communiqué had been weighed with a trebuchet to satisfy all the countries in the group and reach agreement on the lowest “common denominator”. “But what was said during the discussions was much broader and more strategic than what appears in the text,” said this source.
Aside from a visit to the United States this year, Mr. Netanyahu has not visited a G7 country since the start of the war against Hamas in Gaza, triggered by the attack of the Palestinian Islamist movement in Israel, the October 7, 2023.
