By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

Sa’ar claimed that any statement issued by the G20 that fails to include condemnation of Hamas and Hezbollah will “harm peace and security”.

Israeli Foreign Minister, Gideon Sa’ar, criticized on Sunday the Group of 20 (G20) draft statement on Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, calling it “unbalanced and biased.”

Sa’ar demanded in a post on X the G20 to recognize Israel’s alleged right to defend itself and condemn the Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas and the Lebanese Resistance Movement Hezbollah.

“Ahead of this week’s G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, I held phone conversations over the weekend with foreign ministers of countries participating in the forum,” Sa’ar wrote, on X. 

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has criticized the draft of the planned final declaration of the upcoming G20 summit in Brazil addressing the conflict in the Gaza Strip, calling it "unbalanced and biased." https://t.co/mLGcFzBotg

— dpa news agency (@dpa_intl) November 17, 2024

“This was in light of information we received regarding a draft of a summary resolution that is both unbalanced and biased against Israel,” he added.

The Israeli foreign minister also said that he urged his counterparts in the G20 to include in the final statement clauses that include Israel’s right to defend itself, the release of all Israeli captives in Gaza, and condemnation of Hamas and Hezbollah.

Sa’ar claimed that any statement issued by the G20 that fails to include these issues will “harm peace and security” and will “encourage Iran and its proxies to continue to spread instability throughout the Middle East.”

The Israeli minister’s comments came a day ahead of the annual summit of the leaders of the G20 scheduled to meet Monday and Tuesday in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

Genocide Continues

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 43,799 Palestinians have been killed, and 103,601 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7, 2023.

Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.

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Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety. 

(PC, Anadolu)