ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has called for a greater role of D-8 in an immediate and unconditional end to the Israeli blatantly illegal and vividly genocidal actions by using its political, as well as, economic leverage at all the relevant international fora.
Pakistan’s call was made on the D-8 countries by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar while addressing the Extraordinary Meeting of the D-8 Council of Foreign Ministers, in Istanbul on Saturday.
“Silence and inaction in the face of outrageous killings, mistreatment, and relocation of the Palestinians is not an option. We must stand up for our brothers and sisters in Palestine and present a united front to stop Israel’s inhumane and barbaric brutalities,” Dar said in his address which was televised live.
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He added that D-8 must use its political, as well as, economic leverage at all the relevant international fora to end the suffering of the Palestinian people. “Seeking an immediate and unconditional end to this blatantly illegal and vividly genocidal action on the part of Israeli occupation forces is an absolute imperative,” he said.
What is happening today in Gaza is an unprecedented tragedy unfolding at an unimaginable scale, he said. More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli occupation forces while leaving 81,000 injured with many suffering life-threatening injuries or facing live long disabilities. He added that the world is witnessing indiscriminate killings of civilians with a disproportionately large number of women and children. He said that Israeli forces are systematically bombing hospitals and vital infrastructure to target the very existence of Palestinians.
According to the World Health Organization, only 12 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are functional, that too barley. More strikingly, 84 per cent of all health facilities are either destroyed or damaged, all most all certainly by design. “Israel’s incessant and brutal aggression is a blatant attempt to wipe out the Palestinian population,” he said.
He added that the world is witnessing one of the worst massacres of our time being perpetrated by Israeli occupation forces, in total disregard of the international law, world opinion and ICJ orders. “History will not judge those who chose to remain silent in the face of such atrocities,” he added. He further stated that Israel is using hunger and starvation as a weapon of war. He said that the recent attacks by Israeli settlers on aid convoys, as well as, seizure of Rafah border crossing with Egypt amounts to deliberate blocking of humanitarian supplies with a clear intent to starve the civilian population. “This is a whole new and horrific chapter in the history of war crimes under international humanitarian law and laws of war,” he said, adding that the international community must take action to stop this collective punishment unleashed on the Palestinians.
He also condemned the use of starvation as a weapon of war, and called for an immediate ceasefire and unimpeded flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza. He added that the order of the International Court of Justice’s (under the convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa vs Israel)) directing Israel to immediately halt its military offensive in Rafah must be implemented without delay.
This is the third time this year that the 15-judge panel has issued such an order, he said, adding that the international community must act to halt the killing and arrest humanitarian suffering. He said that Pakistan has consistently supported a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in the occupied Palestinian territories based on international law and relevant United Nations resolutions. “We call for the total withdrawal of Israel from all occupied Arab territories, restitution of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including their right of return to Palestine, and the establishment of an independent homeland for the Palestinians with pre-1967 borders and Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital,” he added.
He said that Pakistan believes that there can be no lasting peace in the Middle East without a comprehensive resolution of all outstanding Arab-Israeli disputes. The establishment of a sovereign, viable and contiguous Palestinian state is an absolutely prerequisite for regional peace and stability, he added. Through the D-8 platform we may coordinate humanitarian assistance for the people of Gaza, and also play a role in the rebuilding efforts once the aggression ends. This is important if we want Palestinians to rebuild their lives and livelihood, and not let Israel succeed in its nefarious design of, if not eliminating them, then crippling them permanently. This timely gathering of Foreign Ministers of eight important Muslim countries must send a strong message of support to the Palestinian people.
It must also lead the call, and campaign for concerted and immediate international action to halt Israeli aggression and open all channels of humanitarian assistance to the besieged people of Gaza. Pakistan, on its part, has already sent eight relief consignments for our Palestinian brothers and sisters.
He added that the magnitude of devastation caused by disproportionate and incessant Israeli aggression, however, is unparalleled. It, accordingly, demands extraordinary international effort geared to restoration and rehabilitation of Gaza. “Let’s come together and act now in lending meaningful support to our Palestinian brethren,” he added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024