Tokyo: During a visit to Israel and Jordan on Friday, Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa announced that Japan would allocate an extra $65 million in humanitarian assistance to Palestinians due to their concerns regarding the Gaza conflict.
Speaking to reporters in Jordan after meeting Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and Palestinian counterpart Riyad al-Maliki, Kamikawa also said Japan was planning to provide material aid to war-torn Gaza.
"It is necessary for Israel and Palestine to be able to coexist peacefully in order to prevent the repeat of another tragic act of terrorism," Kamikawa said, adding that she had communicated Japan's continued support for a two-state solution to both Cohen and Maliki.
The visit comes days before Japan is set to host the foreign ministers of the industrialised Group of Seven nations in Tokyo as the crisis in Gaza deepens, with Israel rejecting calls for a humanitarian pause and the leader of Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group warning of the conflict spilling over to neighbouring areas.
Kamikawa did not comment on whether Israel's strikes on Gaza were within the limits of international law. However, she emphasized the importance of all parties adhering to the principles of safeguarding human rights and avoiding unnecessary harm to civilians.
With inputs from agencies