UNITED NATIONS, FEB 26 (APP/DNA):Pakistan has called on the UN Security Council to take steps to end Israel’s aggression in the occupied West Bank,
emphasizing that the 15-member body ensure that the ceasefire in Gaza extends beyond the war-shattered enclave to all occupied Palestinian territories.
“Peace cannot take root as long as Israel’s actions in the occupied West Bank continue with impunity,” Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, the alternative permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, said on Tuesday after a briefing to the Council members by the top UN official for the Middle East Peace Process, Sigrid Kaag, on the situation in the restive region.
Over 50,000 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced, with military raids, settler violence, and illegal land annexations intensifying daily, he said.
“These are not isolated incidents but part of a deliberate strategy to erase Palestinian identity from their own land– It is ethnic cleansing in real time,” the Pakistani envoy added.
Reaffirming Pakistan’s resolute support to the Palestinian people in their struggle for self-determination, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said that a sovereign, independent and contiguous State of Palestine based on pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital, was not just a political necessity — it is a moral imperative.
“If we truly believe in the UN Charter principles, if we stand for justice, for the rule of law, for the fundamental right of all peoples to live in dignity – then we must act,” he said.
“Justice for Palestine cannot wait.”
Earlier, Ms. Kaaq, the UN official in the region, urged Council members to ensure Gaza remains an integral part of a future Palestinian State, and that the enclave and the West Bank including East Jerusalem are unified politically, economically and administratively.
At the same time, she said there should be no long-term Israeli military presence in Gaza – although Israel’s security concerns must be addressed.
In his remarks, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad urged the international community to “prioritize” the pursuit of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East in general and the Occupied Palestinian Territories in particular in a bid to move beyond this perpetual cycle of violence and destruction, asserting that despite the ceasefire, the situation remains precarious and the pause in violence should not be mistaken for peace.
In this regard, he demanded full and immediate implementation of the ceasefire that ensures a permanent cessation of hostilities, Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, unrestricted humanitarian access, and a comprehensive reconstruction plan for Gaza to be supported by the international community and led and owned by the Palestinians.
“The legal and historical status of Al-Haram Al-Sharif/al-Aqsa Mosque must be upheld,” the Pakistani envoy said.”
“It is clear that stability cannot be achieved through continued occupation and oppression.”
Ambassador Asim Ahmad stated that humanitarian relief cannot be allowed to be weaponized, demanding that UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian people, must be allowed to operate without obstruction, pointing out that Israel has a legal duty under the UN Charter to facilitate its work.
He also underscored the need for revival of a credible, irreversible political process that leads to establishment of a Palestinian state, saying that full UN
membership for Palestine is not a symbolic gesture but is a legal and moral imperative.
The June Conference, to be co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, he said presents an important opportunity for peace that must be seized and fully supported.
“But let us be clear – peace cannot and must not be allowed to be dictated by the occupier; It must be grounded in justice, international law, and the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.”
Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said that the upcoming Arab League Summit in Cairo to be followed by the OIC Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Jeddah will provide crucial guidance on addressing the dire situation in Gaza and the broader Palestinian question.
Meanwhile, he urged the Security Council to continue to stand firmly against forced displacement and annexation, saying that just peace demands more than diplomatic declarations — it requires enforcement, accountability, a rejection of impunity, and pressure on the occupying power to comply with UN resolutions and international legitimacy.
The right of return for Palestinian refugees and the realization of a sovereign, independent, and contiguous Palestine are not mere aspirations – they are the foundation of any lasting peace in the region, he stated.
The ambassador drew the attention of the international community to the plight of the thousands of Palestinian prisoners languishing in Israeli custody, saying some have perished due to mistreatment and medical neglect.
“These are war crimes,” he pointed out.
“Double standards on human rights only embolden injustice and perpetuate the conflict.”
Earlier, Ambassador Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the Observer State of Palestine, said Israel’s plan is clear in Gaza, East Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank – get rid of the Palestinian demography to cease Palestinian geography.”
“It has this recurrent dream that it will end this conflict through the disappearance of the Palestinian people,” he said.
Ambassador Mansour noted that “failed recipes” of the past will not deliver a different future, stating that his people’s history “is filled with wars Israel promised will be decisive and they were not.”
“The idea that more injustice, brutality and oppression will lead to peace is madness. The idea that more killing, maiming and displacing will bring security is delusional,” Mansour said.
He stated that there is no military solution to the conflict, only a political one.
“There is only one way forward – preserve the ceasefire in Gaza and ensure its full implementation in line with Council resolution 2735 and end the escalation and aggression in the West Bank leading to a permanent cessation of hostility.”
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