After difficult negotiations, the countries of the Group of Seven (G7) of the world’s most powerful economies announced today that they will comply with their “respective” obligations regarding the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“We reiterate our commitment to international humanitarian law and will abide by our respective obligations.” The adjective “corresponding” refers to the fact that, unlike the other members of the group (Canada, France, Germany, Britain, Japan and Italy), the United States does not recognize the ICC, so it considers itself to have no obligations towards it.
“In exercising its right to self-defense, Israel must fully comply with its obligations under international law in all circumstances, including international humanitarian law,” the G7 foreign ministers wrote in a joint communiqué issued at the end of their meeting near in Rome, without mentioning the ICC arrest warrant against Netanyahu.
The ICC, to which Israel is not a member and from which the United States has withdrawn, last week issued arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister Yoav Gallad and the head of the Palestinian Hamas armed wing, Mohamed Deif for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
A source close to the negotiations at this latest G7 meeting under the Italian presidency said the wording of the communiqué was carefully weighed to satisfy all countries in the group and to reach an agreement on the lowest “common denominator”.
“However, what was said during the discussions was much broader and strategic than what appears in the text,” the source clarified.
“We underline that there can be no equivalence between the terrorist organization Hamas and the State of Israel, the G7 countries said.
Apart from a visit to the US this year, Netanyahu has not been to a G7 country since the war against Hamas in Gaza began, which broke out the day after the Palestinian Islamist movement attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.
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