G7 condemns Israeli expansion in West Bank; Gaza ceasefire signs are ‘positive’ - US

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said negotiators had made progress towards an Israel-Hamas ceasefire, but tamped down hopes of a deal any time soon.

Italy was working to clinch a land border agreement between Lebanon and Israel in an effort to de-escalate tensions between the two countries, according to Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.

G7 condemns Israeli expansion in West Bank

The Group of Seven (G7) issued one of the more severe condemnations of Israel since the war with Hamas began in October, calling on the reversal of land seizures and legalisation of outposts in the occupied West Bank.

In a joint statement Thursday, G7 foreign ministers said the appropriation of 1,270 hectares of land in the Palestinian territory would amount to the “largest” such expansion since 1993. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also moved to legalise five so-called outposts, a type of settlement, while the government approved the addition of 5,000 housing units.

The “settlement programme is inconsistent with international law and counterproductive to the cause of peace,” the G7 leaders wrote after meeting at the Nato summit in Washington. “We urge the government of Israel to reverse this decision.”

Israeli settlements and unilateral land grabs in Palestinian territories have long been a major roadblock to peace, and the practice has persisted since the Hamas attacks on 7 October that triggered the ongoing war in Gaza. The US, alongside Egypt and Qatar, has been trying to broker a ceasefire for months without success.

“This is unacceptable,” Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told reporters. “We’re working on two-state and Italy stands ready to do its part,” he said, referring to the United Nations-endorsed goal of separate Israel and Palestine states.

Italy and some allies have signalled an openness to an Arab-led peacekeeping mission in Gaza once the war ends, Tajani said. He offered to send a contingent of Italian troops to help with the mission.

Israel hasn’t committed to such plans, repeatedly stating its priority is to destroy Hamas, which is designated a terrorist organisation by the US.

US says Gaza ceasefire signs are ‘more positive’ than in months 

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said negotiators had made progress towards an Israel-Hamas ceasefire, but tamped down hopes of a deal any time soon.

“The signs are more positive today than they have been in recent months,” Sullivan said, but added: “There’s still miles to go before we close — if we are able to close. I don’t want to say that it’s immediately around the corner, but it does not have to be far out in the distance.”

Sullivan said US officials were in the region working through details of a deal. Last week, a person familiar with the matter said Hamas had dropped its objections over the US-backed ceasefire proposal to halt the Gaza conflict. Earlier on Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a delegation was headed back to the region.

President Joe Biden put forward the proposal in late May, describing a three-phase approach that would lead to a permanent end to the conflict. He said it had Israel’s full support — something that Israeli officials backed away from at the time. Hamas had agreed to move beyond earlier sticking points, the person said, without providing details.

An Israeli delegation led by Mossad chief David Barnea was in Qatar last week for the talks and returned home late in the day. Barnea, who leads the Israeli external intelligence agency, met Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.

US officials have said a ceasefire could turn into a permanent halt in fighting. The war has caused turmoil in the wider Middle East and huge political divisions globally, even hurting Biden’s bid for re-election in November.

US officials have also worked to head off a potential conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, while also seeking to neutralise Houthi forces in Yemen that say they will keep targeting commercial shipping as long as the Gaza conflict continues.

Italy seeks to broker land border deal with Israel, Lebanon

Italy was working to clinch a land border agreement between Lebanon and Israel in an effort to de-escalate tensions between the two countries, according to Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.

Rome was using a landmark maritime border accord the two nations signed in 2022 as a blueprint for a land deal, Tajani said in an interview on the sidelines of the Nato summit in Washington.

“The situation is very tense, and we have been — and are working — to ensure that the maritime borders agreement can come to be for the land borders too,” he said. Even though the situation was “difficult,” he said, Italian diplomats were pushing ahead with negotiations.

The aim, he said, was to find a solution “that could create distance between Israel and Hezbollah”, a key Iranian proxy active in Lebanon. He added that Israel would certainly react if there were to be a Hezbollah advance.

Italy has traditionally sought to project itself as a mediator in the Middle East, maintaining relations with both Israel and Iran.

“Italians are able to be flexible, and that’s why we have good relations with everyone,” he said. “It isn’t easy, but this shows we can be an instrument for peace.”

Italy, which backs a ceasefire in Gaza and the return of hostages held there, was supportive of an Arab-led peacekeeping mission with the UN in the Gaza strip once the war with Israel ends, Tajani said. He said parties involved in those conversations included Qatar, Jordan, Egypt, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia.

Tajani reiterated Rome’s support for Israel’s “right to exist” but also said: “We’re also asking Israel to realise that peace needs to be reached at some point.”

Tensions between Israel and Lebanon, which don’t recognise each other, have ratcheted up in recent months. The countries have been engaged in increasing hostilities since 7 October, with communities evacuated on both sides of the border amid exchanges of fire.

Hezbollah Chief Hassan Nasrallah said this week that the Lebanese militant group would halt attacks on Israel “without question” in the event of a ceasefire in Gaza. DM

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