Pakistan strongly condemns Israeli moves in West Bank

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday strongly condemned Israel’s attempt to extend its so-called “sovereignty” over parts of the Occupied West Bank, including illegal Israeli settlements, through a draft law introduced in the legislature of the occupying power.

“These actions constitute a flagrant violation of international law, relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions, and the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people,” the Foreign Office spokesperson said in a statement.

He said that such provocative and unlawful measures undermined ongoing efforts to achieve peace and stability in the region, reiterating Pakistan’s call for the international community to take urgent and decisive action to halt these illegal steps and to hold the Israeli occupying forces accountable for their continued violations of international law.

The spokesperson also reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to working with regional and international partners to uphold the rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to self-determination, and to ensure peace, justice, and dignity for the Palestinians.

He also reiterated Pakistan’s unwavering support for the Palestinian cause, including the establishment of an independent, sovereign, viable, and contiguous State of Palestine, based on pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday warned Israel against annexing the West Bank, saying steps taken by parliament and settler violence threatened a Gaza peace deal.

Israeli lawmakers voted Wednesday to advance two bills on annexing the occupied West Bank, barely a week after President Donald Trump pushed through a deal aimed at ending a two-year Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip that was retaliation for a Hamas attack.

“I think the president’s made clear that’s not something we can be supportive of right now,” Rubio said of annexation as he boarded his plane for a visit to Israel.

Annexation moves are “threatening for the peace deal,” he told reporters.