ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday condemned the killing of 10 Palestinians, including an elderly woman, during an Israeli operation in the West Bank, reiterating Islamabad's principled position for a two-state solution to the conflict.
Israeli forces killed nine Palestinians and wounded 20 in a raid on Jenin refugee camp on Thursday, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Four of the injured were in serious condition. Israeli soldiers shot dead a 22-year-old Palestinian during clashes in Jerusalem, raising the death toll to 10.
The bloodshed marked the West Bank’s deadliest day in more than a year and brought to 30 the total number of Palestinians killed this year in Israeli operations.
"Israel continues to massacre innocent Palestinians with impunity. Killing of 10 Palestinians including an elderly woman in Occupied West Bank calls for the strongest condemnation," PM Sharif said on Twitter.
"Sustainable peace in ME (Middle East) is linked to two-state solution. Pakistan stands with people of Palestine."
Since Israel's occupation of Palestine, Pakistan has adopted a consistent policy by refusing to recognize Israel as a state.
The country calls for a viable, independent, and contiguous Palestinian State, with pre-1967 borders, Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital, and a comprehensive and lasting solution to the Palestinian question in accordance with the relevant United Nations and OIC resolutions.
