Pakistan asks world to intervene to protect Palestinians

KARACHI, Pakistan

Pakistan on Sunday called on the international community for urgent intervention to protect Palestinians from Israeli aggression, which has killed at least 181 Palestinians since May 10.

Addressing a virtual emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation's (OIC) Executive Committee, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi called for implementing resolutions of the UN Security Council, UN General Assembly and the UN Human Rights Council on the issue of Palestine.

"The international community must protect the Palestinians against the blatant and illegal use of force and flagrant violations of human rights. It should urgently intervene and take concerted actions to stop Israeli atrocities against civilian population in Gaza, " he said, adding that the bombardment in Gaza "must be stopped immediately."

Tensions spread from East Jerusalem to Gaza after Palestinian resistance groups there vowed to retaliate against recent Israeli assaults on the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.

There should be no impunity for Israel’s violation of international law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention and various human rights treaties, the foreign minister said.

"Attempts to create a false equivalence between Israel, the aggressor, and Palestinians, the victims, are inexcusable and as the collective voice of the Muslim Ummah the OIC should work in unity to dispel this deliberately deceptive perception," he said, referring to propaganda dubbing the massacre of Palestinians as a conflict.

"The OIC owes its genesis to the Palestinian issue. In this hour of need, the Muslim Ummah must exhibit strong solidarity and support for their Palestinian brothers and sisters."

The top diplomat reiterated Pakistan’s support for a two-state solution, with pre-1967 borders, and Jerusalem as the capital of a "viable, independent and contiguous Palestinian State."

Rejecting the continuing expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and expulsion of Palestinians from their properties, he said the tragedy of forced evictions of Palestinians from the Shaikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem is the latest manifestation of the systematic Israeli effort to change the demographic structure; historical and legal status; and Arab-Islamic and Christian character of "Al-Quds."

"This is patently illegal, immoral and unacceptable."

Qureshi reaffirmed "unflinching solidarity with the government and people of Palestine - valiantly defending their legitimate rights."

Pakistan, he said, is ready to join hands with other OIC member states in "any move to stop" the ongoing bloodshed, and restore human dignity and human rights of the Palestinian people in the occupied territories. "We must not fail the Palestinian people at this critical juncture."

The Pakistani leadership has been active on the diplomatic front since Tel Aviv's escalation. Leaders have reached out to their counterparts in several Muslim countries, including Saudi Arabia and Turkey to discuss the situation.