ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar on Sunday said a two-state solution for Palestine was the only way to achieve peace in the Middle East, adding that Pakistan would mobilize support for the Palestinian cause at international forums like the United Nations and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

The remarks came amid escalating hostilities in the Middle East as Hamas, which governs Gaza, launched a full-scale military operation into Israeli towns and settlements located along the separation fence with Gaza on Saturday morning. At least 700 Israelis have been killed in what is being called the deadliest incursion into Israeli territory since Egypt and Syria’s attacks in the 1973 Arab–Israeli War 50 years ago. 

In response, Israeli air strikes have hit housing blocks, tunnels, a mosque and homes of what it said were Hamas officials in Gaza, killing more than 400 people, including children, in keeping with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s vow of “mighty vengeance.”

“We will mobilize [support for Palestinian cause] at international forums, build a support base and talk about a peaceful Middle East in which we believe the fundamental solution is a two-state solution,” Kakar said in an interview on Sunday.

“Palestinians, they also believe that a two-state formula will bring stability in the Middle East. Short of that the problems will continue in the same way.”

Reiterating that Pakistan did not recognize Israel, Kakar said the South Asian country had always stood by the Palestinian cause “traditionally.”

“And this support, we ensure its continuity on the diplomatic, social and political fronts and we will continue to do that,” Kakar added.

Pakistan does not recognize the state of Israel and has repeatedly called for an independent Palestinian state based on “internationally agreed parameters” and the pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.