ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has urged the UN Security Council to take immediate action against Israel’s settlement expansion, settler violence, and other measures in the occupied West Bank, warning that the developments are rapidly undermining prospects for a two-state solution.
Addressing an emergency Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East on Tuesday, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, described the developments in the West Bank as interconnected measures aimed at entrenching the occupation and altering Palestinian demographic and territorial realities.
Ahmad said the expansion of settlements in the E-1 area, the launch of the “Crimson Thread” project, and settlement activity elsewhere in the West Bank were contributing to the fragmentation of Palestinian territory.
He also raised alarm over what he described as unprecedented settler violence and the largest displacement crisis in the West Bank since 1967. According to the Pakistani envoy, expanded Israeli authority over land registration, administration, and enforcement was further contributing to de facto annexation.
Pakistan also called for the immediate release of Palestinian tax revenues withheld by Israel, saying the funds belong to the Palestinian people and are essential to sustaining Palestinian institutions.
The ambassador expressed further concern over developments at Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif, citing continued settler incursions and urging Israel to respect the historical and legal status quo at the holy sites.
On Gaza, Ahmad described the humanitarian situation as extremely fragile and said the international community must not squander opportunities created by diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.
Pakistan welcomed developments under the Board of Peace toward implementation of the Gaza Peace Plan and Security Council Resolution 2803, while acknowledging the efforts of the United States, Egypt, Qatar and Türkiye as mediators.
However, Ahmad warned that continued Israeli military escalation and rejection of the roadmap risked undermining the diplomatic process and prospects for peace.
Pakistan outlined five measures it said the Security Council should pursue urgently: ending Israeli settlement activity and reversing measures altering the status of the occupied Palestinian territory; stopping settler violence and ensuring accountability; providing international protection to Palestinians; preserving the status quo at Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif; and implementing Resolution 2803 and the Comprehensive Peace Plan fully and in good faith.
Ahmad warned that the region was approaching a “dangerous tipping point,” saying failure to reverse the current trajectory could have catastrophic consequences for the two-state solution and regional peace and stability.
He reiterated Pakistan’s support for an independent, sovereign, viable and contiguous State of Palestine based on the pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
According to Pakistan, ending the Israeli occupation and enabling Palestinians to exercise their right to self-determination remains the foundation for achieving a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the region.
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