By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has sharply condemned Israel’s recent parliamentary move to assert sovereignty over parts of the occupied West Bank, calling it a “deplorable act” and a grave violation of international law.
The Pakistani foreign office, in a statement released on Friday, accused Israel of showing blatant disregard for Palestinian rights and warned that the move threatens to further destabilise an already volatile region.
The rebuke follows a non-binding resolution passed by Israel’s parliament, pressing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to extend sovereignty over the West Bank, including the strategically vital Jordan Valley.
Though the measure carries no legal weight, it signals intensifying pressure from Israel’s right-wing lawmakers to formalise annexation, a step that has sparked widespread international backlash.
“Pakistan unequivocally condemns the Israeli parliament’s unlawful attempt to assert ‘sovereignty’ over the occupied West Bank,” the foreign office said. “Such deliberate and provocative actions highlight the occupying power’s systematic attempts to undermine efforts for peace and entrench its illegal occupation.”
The West Bank, seized by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War, remains a cornerstone of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with its future tied to the prospect of a Palestinian state. Israel’s latest push comes against the backdrop of its ongoing war in Gaza, where more than 59,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
The unrelenting violence has deepened the humanitarian crisis and sharpened global focus on Israel’s actions in the occupied territories. Pakistan’s foreign office minced no words in framing the resolution as a dangerous escalation. “These unilateral measures represent a dangerous escalation that jeopardizes regional stability and prospects for a just and lasting settlement,” the statement read.
The South Asian nation, a steadfast supporter of Palestinian statehood, insists that the only path forward is a two-state solution, establishing a “viable, secure, and contiguous” Palestine based on pre-1967 borders.
As the current president of the United Nations Security Council, Pakistan is seizing its platform to spotlight the crises in Gaza and the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Friday’s statement doubled as a rallying cry, urging the international community to act decisively.
“Pakistan calls upon the international community to take swift and decisive action to hold Israel accountable for its violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions and international humanitarian law,” the foreign office said.
The statement went further, dismissing Israel’s maneuvers as futile in the eyes of international consensus. “These measures will neither be recognised nor alter the internationally acknowledged status of the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” it asserted.
Israel’s parliamentary resolution, while symbolic, underscores a growing momentum among its hardline factions to cement control over the West Bank. The Jordan Valley, often described as the breadbasket of any future Palestinian state, has long been a target for Israeli settlers and politicians who view it as an inseparable part of Israel. Yet the international community, including the United Nations, deems Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal.
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