Jeddah
\nDeputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday warned that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s remarks about a \u201cGreater Israel\u201d threatened regional peace and security.
\nEarlier this month, AFP reported that Netanyahu was asked by i24NEWS interviewer Sharon Gal if he subscribed to a \u201cvision\u201d for a Greater Israel, to which he said \u201cabsolutely\u201d, adding, \u201cIf you ask me what I think, we\u2019re there.\u201d These remarks drew widespread condemnation from the international community, including Pakistan. Last week, Israel\u2019s defence minister approved a plan to conquer Gaza City, while Tel Aviv approved a controversial plan to build an Israeli settlement which would sever the occupied West Bank from East Jerusalem.
\nAddressing an extraordinary meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation\u2019s Council of Foreign Ministers (OIC-CFM) in Jeddah, Dar said that in recent days, Israel exhibited its \u201ccharacteristic sordid insensitivity to international norms\u201d with highly provocative and unwarranted statements encapsulating its \u201cgrowing disdain and absolute contempt\u201d for the international order.
\n\u201cThe brazen audacity of the so-called Israeli cabinet, in unveiling its ominous plan to extend Israel\u2019s full military control over Gaza, as well as the Israeli prime minister\u2019s recent allusion to the creation of a \u2018Greater Israel\u2019, provides an insight into Israel\u2019s annexationist and rogue mindset.\u201d
\nPakistan strongly condemned Netanyahu\u2019s remarks, stating that they call for action that would aggravate the already dire humanitarian situation and undermine efforts for peace in the Gaza Strip.
\n\u201cWe joined the statement issued by the Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee, along with other countries, in expressing strong condemnation and categorical rejection of the Israeli announcement, denouncing it as an unacceptable escalation and a brazen attempt to entrench illegal occupation by coercion,\u201d he said.
\nPakistan also fully endorsed and joined the statement issued by 31 Arab-Islamic countries and the secretaries general of the OIC, the League of Arab States and the Gulf Cooperation Council, condemning Netanyahu\u2019s comments about \u201cGreater Israel\u201d.
\n\u201cHis (Netanyahu\u2019s) statement constitutes a direct threat to Arab national security, to the sovereignty of states, and to regional and international peace and security,\u201d Dar stated.
\n\u201cThe root cause of this ongoing tragedy is Israel\u2019s prolonged, illegal occupation of Palestinian territory. As long as this occupation endures, peace will remain elusive,\u201d Dar said, quoting Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. \u201cWe fully stand by our brotherly Arab states in safeguarding their sovereignty against threats to their independence and territorial integrity.\u201d
\n\u2018Wanton acts of collective punishment\u2019
\nDar called Gaza \u201ca graveyard for innocent lives as well as for international law\u201d, lamenting the deaths of over 60,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
\n\u201cThe systematic targeting of hospitals, schools, UN facilities, aid convoys and refugee camps are not incidental, these are wanton acts of collective punishment in full world view,\u201d the deputy PM said.
\n\u201cGaza is enduring a full-scale humanitarian catastrophe. For nearly two years, it has suffered indiscriminate bombardment, total blockade, and deliberate deprivation and starvation, while violence and dispossession escalate in the West Bank and Jerusalem.\u201d
\nThe deputy PM highlighted that the humanitarian system in place was a \u201ccruel illusion\u201d and noted that an unprecedented hunger crisis and famine are rampant in the coastal enclave.
\n\u201cPakistan expresses its deep appreciation to all the states and stakeholders that are playing a role in advancing peace in Gaza. Their ongoing contributions and steadfast support remain essential in the pursuit of stability and justice for the Palestinian people,\u201d he stated.
\nDar also welcomed \u201cinternational momentum\u201d towards the recognition of a Palestinian state by governments around the world and appreciated the International Conference on the Two-State Solution, which was co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France, on July 28.
\n\u201cWe urge those states that have yet to recognise the State of Palestine to do so as soon as they can,\u201d he urged.
\n\u201cWe need to do more. It (the conference) must now be followed up by coordinated international action to realise the long-overdue settlement, based on a viable, sovereign and contiguous State of Palestine, on the basis of pre-1967 borders, with Al Quds Al-Sharif (Jerusalem) as its capital,\u201d Dar added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Jeddah Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday warned that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s remarks about a \u201cGreater Israel\u201d threatened regional peace and security. Earlier this month, AFP reported that Netanyahu was asked by i24NEWS interviewer Sharon Gal if he subscribed to a \u201cvision\u201d for a Greater Israel, to which he …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":85880,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-85889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85889"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85889\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85901,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85889\/revisions\/85901"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85880"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}