Israel puts pressure on G20 states ahead of Rio summit

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."

Saar said on social media platform X that he had phoned several foreign ministers of the Group of 20 (G20) states over the weekend and expressed his displeasure at the draft, ahead of the two-day gathering starting on Monday.

"This was in light of information we received regarding a draft of a summary resolution that is both unbalanced and biased against Israel," Saar said.

"In my discussions with my counterparts, I stated that the summary statement addressing the conflict in our region must include recognition of Israel’s right to defend itself, a demand for the release of all hostages held by Hamas terrorists for more than 400 days under horrific conditions, and condemnation of both Hamas and Hezbollah."

Saar went on to say that any statement not addressing these elements "will harm peace and security, and only serve to encourage Iran and its proxies to continue to spread instability throughout the Middle East."

Iran is considered the main supporter of Palestinian militant organization Hamas and the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, as well as several other militias in the Middle East that are hostile to Israel.

Israel is not a member of the G20, which counts Saudi Arabia as its only Arab member.