ISLAMABAD: Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN), on Sunday demanded the Security Council stop Israel’s planned occupation of Gaza city, saying the move “aims to erase Palestinian presence.”
After a security cabinet meeting on Friday, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed a plan to take over Gaza had been approved, with Israeli forces preparing to take control of Gaza while providing humanitarian aid to civilian population outside combat zones.
The move has drawn a sharp reaction from several countries around the world, including Pakistan, while UN human rights chief Volker Turk this week called on Israel to immediately halt its plan of occupying Gaza city.
Speaking at a UNSC meeting on the Middle East, Ahmad said the latest Israeli move would extinguish prospects for peace and was the culmination of a campaign of “ethnic cleansing.”
“Gaza 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 East Jerusalem,” he said.
“The so-called humanitarian system is a cruel illusion. Famine is rampant. Civilians are being shot trying to collect food. Under the circumstances, this Council must urgently demand Israel, under Chapter of the Charter, to refrain from its stated plan of occupying Gaza city.”
Pakistan, which does not have diplomatic ties with Israel, has consistently condemned Israel’s war on Gaza that has killed over 61,000 Palestinians since Oct. 2023, calling for uninterrupted flow of humanitarian aid into Palestinian territory.
Ahmad once again urged an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, release of hostages and exchange of Palestinian prisoners, a complete halt to displacement, unhindered humanitarian access, and protection of the legal and historical status quo at Jerusalem’s holy sites.
“Those shielding Israel from accountability — through political cover, military support, or diplomatic protection — are complicit, and must share responsibility. They must reconsider their policies, for history will judge them harshly,” he said.
“The Security Council must be ready to impose a cost on Israel if it defies the demand of the Council and the will of the international community. The Council must enact enforcement measures including the deployment of an international protection force to save the besieged population.”
