United Nations, February 27, 2025: Pakistan has strongly condemned the forced expulsion of Palestinians from the occupied West Bank, describing it as “ethnic cleansing in real time” during a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) briefing on the Middle East.
Speaking at the session, Pakistan’s Alternate Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, warned that such actions not only violate human rights but also threaten long-term peace in the region.
Ambassador Ahmad stressed that achieving a just and lasting peace requires addressing the situation across all Occupied Palestinian Territories, not just Gaza.
“Peace cannot take root as long as Israel’s actions in the occupied West Bank continue with impunity,” he told the Council.
He highlighted the alarming scale of displacement, stating that more than 50,000 Palestinians have been forcibly expelled—the largest mass displacement since 1967.
“Military raids, settler violence, and illegal land annexations intensify daily. These are not isolated incidents but part of a deliberate strategy to erase Palestinian identity from their own land,” he said.
Ahmad urged the UNSC to ensure that any ceasefire extends beyond Gaza to cover all occupied Palestinian territories.
He also criticized the targeting of humanitarian aid agencies, saying Israel had a legal obligation under Article 2(5) of the UN Charter to facilitate their operations.
“The deliberate targeting of aid agencies is a moral outrage and a violation of international law,” he asserted.
The Pakistani diplomat described the devastation in Gaza, noting that over 90% of its infrastructure—including homes, hospitals, businesses, and places of worship—has been reduced to rubble.
“This is not just destruction but an assault on an entire people’s existence,” he stated, emphasizing that international sympathy alone is insufficient and that decisive action is needed.
Urging the revival of a credible and irreversible political process, Ahmad reiterated Pakistan’s support for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
“Full UN membership for Palestine is not a symbolic gesture—it is a legal and moral imperative,” he concluded.
