After U.S. President Joe Biden announced a new proposal for a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip last week, it took just days for the G7 nations to endorse the plan in a joint statement.
But experts say other disagreements between G7 nations over the past nine months may prevent the world’s major economies from reaching agreement on a path to long-term peace when they meet in Italy next week.
The G7 nations – which also include Canada, the United States, Japan, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, as well as the European Union – issued a statement on Monday saying they “fully support and endorse the comprehensive peace agreement finalized by President Biden that will lead to an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages, a significant and sustained increase in humanitarian assistance distributed throughout Gaza, and a lasting end to the crisis.”
The statement also reiterated the G7’s commitment to an eventual two-state solution and called on Hamas to accept the agreement.
The proposed ceasefire would see Israeli troops withdraw from densely populated areas of Gaza, release hundreds of Palestinians from captivity, allow Palestinian families to return to their homes and increase food aid deliveries to 600 trucks a day.
The ceasefire will last for six weeks and requires Hamas to release all Israeli hostages.
The G7 is not entirely in agreement on other issues related to the conflict.
On May 20, Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, announced that he was seeking arrest warrants for Hamas leaders and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan spoke about the decision to apply for arrest warrants against Israeli and Hamas leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in connection with the October 7 attacks and the ongoing war in Gaza.
Biden responded swiftly. In a media statement, the White House called the attempt to prosecute Israeli leaders “outrageous” and said there was “absolutely no equivalence between Israel and Hamas.”
France, meanwhile, declared that it “supports the International Criminal Court, its independence and the fight against impunity in all circumstances,” and Foreign Minister Stephane Séjourne said the simultaneous requests for arrest warrants did not imply “equivalence” between Israel and Hamas.
Canada has said it supports the ICC’s work, but when asked whether the government would arrest Netanyahu under an ICC warrant if he visited Canada, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly refused to answer, calling the scenario a “hypothetical.”
John Kirton, director of the G7 Research Group at the University of Toronto, said it was unlikely that G7 leaders would reach an agreement on the details of a post-war future when they meet June 13-15.
“I think they know they can’t do that,” he said. “I think what they want to do with their limited time in Puglia is figure out how to get Hamas to retract its reservations.” [on Biden’s proposal]”
Divisions within the country and in Europe also have an impact
Kirton also said domestic political considerations would be a factor for some G7 leaders, including Biden, who is seeking re-election against President Donald Trump later this year, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is seeking to retain his Liberal stronghold of Toronto-St. Paul in a June 24 by-election.
“All [G7] “Their leaders are totally unpopular in the country,” he said. “We Canadians, I think in the city of Toronto, believe that the Liberal Party needs to have the full support of all Jewish citizens in the electorate of St. Paul.”
Max Bergmann, director of Europe, Russia and Eurasia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said at a press conference on June 3 that he doesn’t expect the Middle East conflict to feature heavily on the summit’s agenda.
“Europeans themselves do not have a unified position on how to approach this conflict,” Bergmann said.
“For example, there are countries like Germany that have been strong supporters of Israel for many years. And then there are countries like Spain that recognize the state of Palestine.”
Spain is not a member of the G7 but will be represented at the summit through the EU. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has warned that Israel is heading towards international isolation.
But one expert noted that Biden has spoken tougher about Netanyahu in recent speeches. Time Magazine Interview It was carried out before the ceasefire proposal but was made public a few days after it was announced.
“Ironically, there may well be greater consensus among the G7 on what is needed now,” said Errol Mendes, a professor of international law at the University of Ottawa. “The next few days will be crucial to whether that solidifies.”
Asked in the interview whether he believed Netanyahu was prolonging the Gaza war for his own political reasons, Biden said: “There is every reason to come to that conclusion.”
The G7’s official website states that the “main focus” of the upcoming summit “will be the defence of the rules-based international system. Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine is undermining its principles and causing destabilisation, as well as multiple crises around the world. The G7 will attach equal importance to the Middle East conflict, which has implications for the global agenda.”
Canadian government officials told reporters on Friday, providing background, that Trudeau will take part in a working session on the Middle East during the G7 summit.
The official declined to say what Canada hopes to achieve from the talks, saying, “I would not speculate on what the leaders may agree to during their time in Italy.”
Jolie posted on social media platform X on Thursday that she had spoken with the foreign ministers of Jordan and Saudi Arabia about the Gaza issue, “the urgent need for a ceasefire,” humanitarian aid and the need for the release of Israeli hostages.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has announced a whirlwind Middle East trip in the days ahead of the G7 summit, visiting Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Qatar, where he is expected to discuss the ceasefire proposal.
