Nagasaki excludes 'Israel' from peace ceremony over war on Gaza
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The Nagasaki mayor reports that his city penned a letter "for an immediate ceasefire."
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The Cenotaph for the Victims of the Atomic Bomb and the Atomic Bomb Dome are seen at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima on May 19, 2023. (AP)
Dozens of countries have been invited to attend the August 9 event in Japan on the anniversary of the US nuclear attack in 1945 on Hiroshima and Nagasaki – but "Israel" was not one of them as of now.
Nagasaki's mayor Shiro Suzuki told reporters on Monday, "..as for Israel, the situation is changing day by day... so we have put sending an invitation letter on hold," adding that there were concerns over protests if "Israel" attended.
"Given the critical humanitarian situation in Gaza, and public opinion in the international community, there are concerns about the risk of unexpected incidents during the ceremony," which should be "safe and smooth," Suzuki said, noting, "As the Ukraine situation has not changed, we are not inviting Russia or Belarus" either.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian envoy has been invited to the ceremony, as reported by local officials to AFP on Tuesday, and Japanese media commented that usually, both sides are invited.
Read next: Sullivan: Biden won't apologize for Hiroshima during memorial visit
Suzuki relayed to the press that his city penned a letter to the Israeli embassy in which "we call for an immediate ceasefire" and that "we will issue an invitation swiftly" if Nagasaki officials decide that inviting "Israel" won't pose a problem.
On the other hand, Hiroshima invited "Israel" for this year's memorial ceremony but called for a "ceasefire as soon as possible and resolution through dialogue" in a letter, according to a city official.
Local media reported that Hiroshima has never invited a Palestinian envoy to its ceremony.
It is worth mentioning that a report by Gaza's Government Media Office revealed back in January that "Israel" dropped 65,000 tons of explosives and missiles on Gaza in three months, which outweighs and is more powerful than three nuclear bombs that the US dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
