G-7 leaders to urge all sides to accept Biden’s cease-fire deal
Group of Seven leaders will call on Hamas to accept the cease-fire deal outlined by U.S. President Joe Biden, according to a draft statement seen by Bloomberg.
In the communique they issue at the end of their annual meeting, taking place this week, the allies will also urge Israel to de-escalate from a “full-scale military offensive” in Rafah — and may include language that urges those steps to be in line with provisional measures ordered by the International
Court of Justice.
The wording by the G-7, specifically name-checking Biden, appears designed to corner Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into formally accepting the ceasefire proposal on which he’s also been equivocating. The language used in the communique says Israel “is ready to move forward” — a way to add public pressure on the country’s leader.
Civilians have been sheltering in Rafah, where the United Nations has described conditions as catastrophic, and the U.S. and other Israeli allies have voiced their concern over the scale of ground operations there.
“We urge countries with influence over Hamas” to help ensure it accepts a cease fire, the leaders of the G-7 will say. Hamas is designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. and European Union.
Another item in the draft that has yet to receive unanimous agreement relates to the recognition of the Palestinian state as part of a twostate peace process. “We note that the recognition of a Palestinian state, at the appropriate time, would be a crucial component,” reads the provisional language.