Italian Foreign Minister Expects G7 State To Be Compact On Orders To Arrest Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu

JAKARTA - Group of Seven (G7) member states are expected to be united and one voice over an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Monday the G7 group was looking for the same position regarding an arrest warrant issued by the ICC.

"We need to unite in this," Tajani said after hosting the first working session of a two-day meeting of foreign ministers from G7 countries.

Previously, the United States, one of the G7 member countries, had rejected the ICC's decision, with President Joe Biden describing it as outrageous.

Apart from Uncle Sam's country, this group consists of England, Italy, Japan, Germany, Canada, France and the European Union.

Foreign Minister Tajani, part of a seemingly divided coalition government in the ICC issue, said she wanted the G7 to speak in one voice.

"We've talked about it, let's see if we can take part in the final communication dedicated to this, we're working on finding an agreement," added Tajani.

It is known that the ICC issued an arrest warrant for ON Netanyahu, former Israeli defense chief Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Ibrahim Al-Masri alias Mohammed Def on Thursday last week, on suspicion of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza conflict.

Israel denounced the decision as an embarrassing and unreasonable act.

Foreign Minister Tajani said she invited her colleagues from Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar to join the G7 meeting in Fiuggi, a city about 80 kilometers southeast of Rome.

Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said discussions were ongoing prospects for a breakthrough in the Lebanese ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah are starting to improve.

"Currently we are discussing with our partners from the Gulf and Arab countries on how we can, in this situation, at least might resolve one of the main challenges, the situation in Lebanon, and eventually reach a ceasefire," he explained.

"The momentum now seems closer than a few days or even a few weeks ago," Foreign Minister Baerbock added.