G7 foreign ministers said on Tuesday they would “comply with our respective obligations” regarding the arrest warrant issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The Group of Seven industrialized nations brings together Britain, Canada, Germany, France, Japan, host Italy and the United States.
“We reiterate our commitment to international humanitarian law and will abide by our respective obligations,” the ministers said in a joint statement issued after two days of talks near Rome.
The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu last week, drawing outrage from Israel and its allies – including the US, which is not a member of the ICC and has rejected its jurisdiction.
All other G7 countries are members of the ICC – meaning Netanyahu would have to be arrested if he went there.
The ICC also issued a warrant for Mohammad Deif, Netanyahu’s former defense minister and Hamas military chief, whom Israel claimed was killed in an airstrike in Gaza in July. Hamas has not confirmed his death.
The G7 statement said the foreign ministers “underline that there can be no equivalence between the terrorist group Hamas and the State of Israel”.
“Exercising its right to defend itself, Israel must fully comply with its obligations under international law in all circumstances, including international humanitarian law,” the statement said.
The Hague-based ICC says the warrants against Netanyahu and his former minister were for “crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least October 8, 2023 to at least May 20, 2024.”
Italy had called for a discussion on the ICC warrant at the G7, following apparent divisions within Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government over what it means for Netanyahu.
A diplomatic source said, without revealing details, that the discussions at Fiuggi were “much broader and more strategic” than those that culminated in the final statement.
The war in Gaza has erupted since a Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, resulting in 1,207 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 44,249 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, which the United Nations considers credible.
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