Excellencies,
I am honoured to preside over this important Open Debate on the Middle East, including the Palestinian Question. I thank Assistant Secretary General Khalid Khiari for his comprehensive briefing.
2. For decades, the Palestinian people have endured the worst form of occupation and apartheid. They have been denied their fundamental and inalienable rights, including the right to self-determination and statehood. What we have witnessed in Gaza for last 22 months is not just a humanitarian catastrophe, but a collapse of humanity itself.
3. Gaza has become a graveyard for innocent lives as well as for international law, particularly the International Humanitarian Law (IHL). Over 58,000 Palestinians – most of them women and children – have been killed in Israel’s brutal military assault. The systematic targeting of hospitals, schools, UN facilities, aid convoys and refugee camps are not incidental, these are deliberate acts of collective punishment in flagrant violation of IHL, numerous Security Council and General Assembly resolutions as well as the binding provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Excellencies,
4. The hunger crisis in Gaza has reached unprecedented and deeply alarming levels. According to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), a third of the population not eating for multiple days in a row, an indicator of catastrophic levels of food insecurity.
Excellencies,
5. The Palestinian question is a litmus test for the credibility of the United Nations, the Security Council and the integrity of international law. Failure to uphold the rights of the Palestinian people will embolden impunity and undermine the legitimacy of the very international order we all claim to defend and uphold. The Security Council must live up to its responsibility and ensure compliance with its own decisions.
6. Pakistan reaffirms its unwavering and principled support and solidarity with the Palestinian people and their right to a viable, sovereign and contiguous State of Palestine based on the pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital. This is the only just and durable solution, enshrined in Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, the Arab Peace Initiative and the consensus position of the OIC.
7. We urge the Security Council to pursue with unity and urgency, the following concrete measures:
First, an immediate, permanent and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza and across the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including the full implementation of the Council Resolution 2735. We appreciate the ongoing diplomatic efforts aimed at securing a ceasefire in Gaza and hope they would yield tangible and meaningful outcomes, including a permanent end to the war. We appreciate the role played by Egypt, Qatar and the United States in this regard;
Second, unfettered, sustained and secure humanitarian access to all civilians in need, and the protection of aid workers, medical teams and UN personnel. Immediate steps should be taken to ensure the delivery of life-saving food and medical assistance, restore humanitarian supply lines, and prevent famine conditions from taking hold.
Third, renewed and reinforced international support to UNRWA, which remains indispensable to the survival of millions of Palestinians;
Fourth, an end to forced displacement, illegal settlement expansion and annexation of Palestinian land, particularly in the West Bank and East Jerusalem;
Fifth, implementation of the Arab and OIC-led reconstruction plan for Gaza, which represents a vital framework for post-conflict recovery and rehabilitation, sustainable development, and the restoration of dignity for the Palestinian people; and
Sixth, and last, a political horizon is the need of the hour – the revival of a genuine and time-bound political process to achieve a just, comprehensive and lasting two-state solution in accordance with international law and relevant UN resolutions.
8. Pakistan welcomes the growing international momentum in support of the Palestinian statehood and full membership of the UN. We urge those states that have yet to recognize the State of Palestine to do so as soon as they can. We also welcome the convening on 28th July of the International Conference on the two-state solution, co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France, to help generate renewed momentum and take concrete actions towards achieving the two-state solution.
Excellencies,
9. A comprehensive and enduring peace in the Middle East requires addressing all interrelated crises across the region through effective multilateralism and peaceful settlement of disputes.
10. Pakistan supports the stabilization of Syria through an inclusive political process. Syria’s unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity must be upheld. Israel must withdraw immediately from the separation zone established under the 1974 Disengagement Agreement, and from the occupied Syrian Golan Heights in accordance with Security Council resolutions 242, 338 and 497.
11. In Lebanon, the ceasefire understanding and Resolution 1701 must be respected, and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon safeguarded. We must support the peace process in Yemen facilitated by the UN and regional actors, particularly Saudi Arabia and Oman.
12. The sharp rise in tensions and violence as a result of the Israeli aggression and unlawful military strikes in Iran was profoundly disturbing. These attacks set a dangerous precedent and posed grave threat to regional and global peace. Pakistan calls for urgent recourse to dialogue and diplomacy consistent with the UN Charter to find a peaceful and lasting resolution to this issue, in accordance with the rights, obligations and responsibilities of all parties.
13. Excellencies, history has taught us that the use of force and unilateral military actions only deepen conflicts and entrench divisions, with tragic human and humanitarian consequences. The way forward lies in upholding international law, ending foreign occupation, rejecting the use of force and promoting solutions through dialogue and diplomacy. It is time to give the Palestinian people what they have been denied for too long: justice, freedom, dignity, and a state of their own. That is the path to durable peace and stability in the Middle East.
I thank you.