Israel 'totally exposed' over occupation, violations, says Pakistan at UN Security Council

HAMILTON, Canada

Pakistan on Thursday strongly criticized Israel at the UN Security Council, calling its actions state terrorism and defiance of international law.

"The representative of Israel, perhaps, did not listen attentively to all Council members and the speakers in today's debate. And in our view, it is unacceptable, indeed ludicrous, for an aggressor and occupier, a serial violator of the UN Charter and international law that is Israel, to abuse this chamber and disrespect the sanctity of this Council," said Pakistan's UN envoy Asim Iftikhar Ahmad.

Ahmad's remarks came in response to Israeli ambassador to the UN Danny Danon's comparison of Israel's attack earlier this week on Hamas officials in Doha, Qatar to a special operations raid in 2011 by US Navy SEALs in Pakistan that led to the death of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, criticizing the international community for double standards.

"When bin Laden was eliminated in Pakistan, the question asked was not, 'Why target a terrorist on foreign soil?'" said Danon at the Council's meeting.

The Pakistani envoy fired back, saying that Israel is a country that "does not listen to anyone, that does not pay heed to any advice, even from its friends, if there are any left."

He added that Israel "threatens members of the international community, international media, and international human rights and humanitarian organizations."

"Like all occupiers, despite being the aggressor, it faints and plays the victim. But today it is totally exposed," Ahmad told the Council.

Reaffirming Islamabad's stance on terrorism, he said: "The entire world, including our partners, acknowledges that Al-Qaeda was largely decimated due to Pakistan's counterterrorism efforts, and we remain committed in this global collective endeavor."

Ahmad rejected what he called a "false analogy" by the Israeli envoy and stated that Israel is being "the perpetrator of the worst kind of state terrorism that we are witnessing in Gaza and in fact in the occupied Palestinian territories for decades."