Khaldon Azhari

TOKYO: Japan’s Foreign Minister IWAYA Takeshi has resorted to verbal protests and summoning Israeli diplomats but stopped short of following the UK and other European countries in the wake of an incident in the West Bank when Israeli occupation forces fired warning shots at a group of diplomats, including Japanese diplomats.

During a press conference on Friday, when asked about the incident and whether Japan would join the UK and other countries in acting against Israel, Iwaya expressed, “We deeply regret that such an incident occurred and believe it should never have happened.”

The Director-General of the Middle East and Africa Bureau protested to the Israeli Ambassador to Japan, and Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs FUNAKOSHI Takehiro summoned the Israeli Ambassador to lodge “a strong protest,” demanding a full explanation.

“We have not yet received any explanation,” Iwaya noted.

Canada, the United Kingdom, and France have reportedly threatened to impose strong sanctions against Israel if it fails to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and Iwaya was asked if Japan plans to take similar steps.

Iwaya resorted to the oft-repeated Japanese diplomatic answer by saying he had strongly urged Israel to immediately return to the ceasefire negotiations to resolve the situation in Gaza and comply with international law, including international humanitarian law. 

“The reoccupation of Gaza and the expansion of military operations have further deteriorated the already serious humanitarian situation,” he said. “Such actions counter the realization of a ‘two-state solution,’ and we are firmly opposed to them.” 

Iwaya talked in general terms about tens of thousands of Palestinian children killed by the Israeli occupation in Gaza, resorting to abstract terms such as “the dire humanitarian situation,” but he was specific when paying tribute to the two Israeli Embassy staff in Washington who were killed on Wednesday. “I would like to express my heartfelt condolences to the two people who lost their lives,” he said before adding that terrorism should not be tolerated.