ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday condemned Israel’s intent to “forcibly displace” Palestinians from their homeland after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government told residents of Gaza City to move south, the latest step in a conflict that has already killed tens of thousands.
Earlier this year, Netanyahu floated the idea of relocating Palestinians to neighboring Egypt and Jordan, sparking international backlash. Arab leaders later gathered to discuss Gaza’s future, adopting an Egyptian-led reconstruction plan while warning against any forced demographic shifts.
Israel has already been accused of genocide and of using starvation as a weapon of war as it expands settlements to drive Palestinians off their land.
“Pakistan strongly condemns recent statements by the Israeli occupying power, expressing its intention to forcibly displace Palestinians from their land,” the Pakistani foreign office said in a statement.
“Such actions are a clear violation of international law and a deliberate attempt to sabotage efforts for achieving peace and stability in the region,” it added.
The statement said forced displacement and settlement expansion reflected Israel’s “disregard for international human rights and humanitarian law.”
It urged the international community to address the humanitarian plight of civilians and hold Israel accountable after the Israeli administration blocked aid from entering Gaza in sufficient quantities, leading to mass hunger among its residents and causing malnutrition in children.
The foreign office also reaffirmed Pakistan’s “unwavering support” for the Palestinian people in their just struggle for self-determination and for a sovereign, independent state based on pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Pakistan is not the only Muslim state voicing alarm. Egyptian officials have sharply reacted to Israeli plans to occupy Gaza and push residents south toward the Rafah crossing on their country’s border.
Saudi Arabia also issued a strongly worded statement on Saturday, denouncing forced displacement and expressing full support for Cairo.
The war in Gaza has raged since October 2023, with over 64,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, killed.
Conditions are also worsening in the West Bank, where Palestinians face rising violence from Israeli settlers.
