Pakistan rejects Netanyahu's opposition to Palestinian state, calls for Gaza pullout

Pakistan rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state on Wednesday, saying Palestinian statehood is firmly rooted in international law and UN resolutions.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi also said any refusal by Israel to withdraw its forces from Gaza would be a “serious setback” to commitments made under the Board of Peace plan.

Responding to a question during his weekly news conference about Netanyahu's recent remarks rejecting a Palestinian state and his reported refusal to withdraw Israeli forces from Gaza and move to the second phase of the peace plan, Andrabi said Pakistan has taken note of Israel's position.

"This would be a serious setback to the decision taken at the Board of Peace, because the disarmament of Hamas and the evacuation of Gaza by Israeli troops were twin commitments," Andrabi told reporters in Islamabad.

"We hope that Israel will abide by its commitments," he added.

Netanyahu on Sunday rejected a 15-point document put forward by the Board of Peace, insisting that Israeli forces would not withdraw from Gaza before Hamas is fully disarmed.

Addressing Netanyahu's opposition to Palestinian statehood, Andrabi said the issue was not dependent on the position of any individual Israeli leader.

"As regards the State of Palestine, this is in accordance with international law and UN resolutions," he said.

He added that Palestinian statehood had "an established international legality," arguing that statements rejecting it could not alter the legal and diplomatic status of the issue.

"Remark to the contrary to this established international legality means nothing," Andrabi said, describing Netanyahu's position as a personal view that Pakistan "emphatically" rejected.

Pakistan has consistently called for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 borders, with occupied East Jerusalem as its capital.