G7 foreign ministers express 'deep concern' over possible Israeli attack on Rafah

ROME

The Group of Seven (G-7) nations support the creation of a Palestinian state, Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Saturday, underlining that the process for this must begin with the suspension of the fighting in Gaza.

"The G-7 document talks about the will to reach the objective of two people, two states, through an interruption of the conflict now, which will allow the unconditional liberation of the Israeli hostages and help the Palestinian civilian population who needs humanitarian aid," Tajani told reporters after a meeting with his counterparts in the G-7 at the Munich Security Conference in Germany.

"Then, negotiations would start that I hope will lead to peace," he said.

More than 28,000 Palestinians have been killed so far in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, with UN agencies warning that a planned ground offensive in the southern city of Rafah, near the border with Egypt, would have even more disastrous consequences for civilians.

Some 1.5 million Palestinians previously displaced by Israel's offensive on Gaza are holed up in Rafah, seeking refuge from hostilities that have laid waste to vast swathes of the Palestinian territory.

Tajani said foreign ministers of the G-7 condemned Palestinian group Hamas and ruled out any political role for it in Gaza after the war, calling it a "terrorist organization."

The Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank, on the other hand, has the support of the seven-nation group, he said, but adding that the body had to be renovated for it to be a "protagonist" in Gaza.

"Our position aims at guaranteeing the security of the state of Israel, we ask for the immediate liberation of hostages and work for a de-escalation to help civilians in Gaza," Tajani said.

He also added that the ministers condemn acts of violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, which have been on the rise since Oct. 7.

The UN and most of the international community consider settlements to be not just illegal, but also that they undermine efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with a two-state solution.

The US, UK and France have introduced sanctions against settlers accused of committing acts of violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and called for the Israeli government to do more to stop such aggression.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to ensure its forces do not commit acts of genocide, and guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

Tajani also said that the G-7 continues to guarantee its support for Ukraine in Kyiv's war with Russia.

"We continue to give support to this country, which is the victim of an unacceptable aggression. We also stated clearly that limits on air spaces must be respected, after we received news about Russian nuclear space initiatives," Tajani said, referring to reports of plans by Moscow to deploy nuclear arms in space.

He also added that though Italy's contribution to weapons supplied to Ukraine is lower than other Western nations, Italy has pledged to support Ukraine on the reconstruction of its infrastructure damaged by the war.

G-7 foreign ministers observed a minute of silence ahead of their meeting in Munich to pay their respects to Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, who died in Russian prison on Friday, the G-7's Italian presidency said.

"Russia must shed light on his death and stop its unacceptable repression of political dissent," said Tajani.