Mitsotakis defends Israel’s right to self-defense, condemns ‘collective punishment’

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis addressed the Cairo Peace Summit on Saturday, aimed at finding ways to “de-escalate” the Israel-Hamas war, offering an unequivocal condemnation of terrorism while defending Israel’s right to self-defense in compliance with international law.

“The one key message to come out of today should be that we all condemn terrorism in all its forms and we deplore the loss of life and the harm that has been inflicted to innocent civilians by the violence in Israel and in Gaza since the October 7 terrorist attack by Hamas,” Mitsotakis told the gathering in the Egyptian capital.

“There are innocent victims on both sides. There are civilians kept hostages and no peace can be discussed until they are free,” he said.

At the same time, the Greek prime minister upheld Israel’s right to defend itself in line with humanitarian and international law.

“Israel has a right of self defense but in accordance with international humanitarian law. I also want to be clear that collective punishment is prohibited by the laws of war. And these laws were designed to ensure that when war must be conducted, there are limits on what harm can be done to other human beings,” he said.

Mitsotakis also defended a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as the only viable option.

“The future of sustainable peace, stability and prosperity can only be attained with a resumption of the peace process on the basis of a two-state solution. And one thing should be clear to all of us is that no military intervention can replace a viable political solution,” he said.