By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday strongly condemned recent statements by Israel signalling intent to forcibly displace Palestinians from Gaza City, calling the move a violation of international law and an attempt to undermine peace efforts in the region.
The Foreign Office said forced displacement and the expansion of illegal settlements showed Israel’s “disregard for international human rights and humanitarian law.” It urged the international community to intervene to protect civilians and hold Israel accountable.
The Foreign Office slammed Israel’s evacuation orders and military push in the crowded urban zone, amid mounting global alarm over the humanitarian fallout.
“Pakistan strongly condemns recent statements by the Israeli occupying power, expressing its intention to forcibly displace Palestinians from their land,” the foreign Office said in a statement. “Such actions are a clear violation of international law and a deliberate attempt to sabotage efforts for achieving peace and stability in the region.”
The statement said “forced displacement and continued expansion of illegal settlements reflect Israel’s disregard for international human rights and humanitarian law. We call upon the international community to play its role in addressing the humanitarian plight of the civilians and to hold Israel accountable”. “Pakistan reaffirms its unwavering support for the Palestinian people in their just struggle for self-determination and for a sovereign, independent Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.”
The rebuke follows Israel’s stepped-up offensive in Gaza City, with the army directing residents to flee to southern “humanitarian zones” as it targets alleged Hamas positions.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted seizing the city is key to vanquishing the Islamist group, with troops unleashing heavy bombardments and razing tower blocks in recent days. Foreign media reported that Israeli forces hit a high-rise in the city on Saturday after warnings to evacuate, part of strikes that killed at least 41 across Gaza in the previous 24 hours.
Repeated evacuation calls have uprooted hundreds of thousands, worsening a crisis of famine threats and aid shortages, prompting UN experts to demand an urgent General Assembly session. Amnesty International cautioned the assault risks “catastrophic and irreversible consequences” for civilians and called for an immediate stop. Neighbours Egypt and Qatar have decried Netanyahu’s displacement talk as a humanitarian violation and a non-negotiable “red line.”
Pakistan’s position echoes its earlier denunciation last month of Israeli hints at a “Greater Israel” scheme implying more land grabs and expulsions. In August, Islamabad blasted those aims as flouting Palestinian rights, joining global demands to reject coerced population shifts in occupied lands.A longtime Palestinian advocate, Pakistan routinely urges accountability and a halt to settlements, voicing its views at the UN and beyond.
The war, started on October 7, 2023, has seen recurrent displacements and incursions, fuelling UN and rights group warnings of genocide perils and law breaches.
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