Pakistan on Tuesday joined seven other members of the United Nations Security Council in reiterating their firm opposition to the annexation of any part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the forcible displacement of the Palestinian people.
In a joint statement, all eight nations—Pakistan, Bahrain, Denmark, France, Greece, Latvia, Somalia, United Kingdom—warned that such actions violate international law and undermine prospects for peace.
Delivering the first portion of the statement, Pakistan’s U.N. Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said the U.N. Charter and relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions, including resolution 2334, guided the opposition to the annexation and forcible displacement of Palestinians.
The statement noted the UNSC had “condemned all measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem.” Any such measures, it stressed, violate “international law, undermine ongoing peace efforts, run counter to the comprehensive plan and jeopardize the prospect of achieving just and lasting peace.”
The statement emphasized the UNSC had “also demanded that Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem,” and that Tel Aviv fully respect all of its legal obligations in this regard.
“This illegal settlement policy and Israeli settlers’ continuous and escalating attacks against the Palestinian civilian population, as well as the violence against Palestinian communities, including the recent killing of Palestinian children by Israeli forces, are unacceptable and must be brought to an immediate end and we call for those responsible to be held to account,” it said.
French Ambassador Jerome Bonnafont delivered the second segment of the press statement. In it, the eight states reaffirmed “the council’s call for the preservation of the historic status quo at the holy sites in Jerusalem.” They also expressed “deep concern regarding the grave humanitarian and economic situation unfolding in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” blaming it on “severe restrictions on movement and access and to the withholding of Palestinian tax revenues by Israel.”
The group stressed that such matters must be addressed urgently. The statement reaffirmed “the collective commitment reflected in the New York Declaration to take concrete measures, in accordance with international law, and in line with the relevant U.N. resolutions and the July 19, 2024 Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice, to help realize the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and to counter policies and threats of forcible displacement and annexation throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
Bahrain’s Ambassador Jamal Fares Alrowaiei read out the final portion of the statement. In it, the group reiterated “our commitment towards achieving just and lasting peace on the basis of the relevant U.N. resolutions, the Madrid terms of reference, including the principle of land for peace, and the Arab Peace Initiative.” It reiterated a call for ending the Israeli occupation and implementing the two-state solution.