United Nations, October 17, 2023: Pakistan has called on Israel to lift its inhumane blockade on the Gaza Strip and allow unhindered access to humanitarian aid for the Palestinian people suffering under the relentless Israeli bombardment that has ravaged the enclave. At a debate on the Palestinian question in a UN panel, Ambassador Muhammad Usman Iqbal Jadoon, the Pakistani deputy permanent representative to the UN, said that the Tel Aviv regime must fulfill those obligations as an occupying Power under international law.
“The Palestinian people need protection, immediate and urgent humanitarian aid, and an end of the mass displacement,” he told the General Assembly’s Second Committee, which deals with economic and financial matters, on Monday. In the Committee’s ensuing debate, 34 other speakers condemned Israel’s actions, with the Observer for the State of Palestine, Sahar Nasser-Abushawesh, warning that the conditions in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly in the Gaza Strip, have witnessed a horrific and unimaginable deterioration due to Israel’s destructive practices.
She said Israel’s recent declaration of war on the Palestinian civilian population was exacerbated by its decision to starve and completely cut off the Palestinian population from water, fuel and electricity, elevating an “already dangerous situation into a humanitarian, sanitation and environmental catastrophe”. In his remarks, Ambassador Jadoon said that Pakistan has been providing humanitarian assistance to the “besieged and helpless” Palestinian people, adding, “We are actively exploring avenues for reaching the needy population in Gaza with essential supplies.”
The Pakistani envoy voiced deep concern about the alarming and dire security and humanitarian situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as a result of Israel’s illegal practices. More than 1 million people in Gaza and in the surrounding area have been asked to move south of the territory amid continuous air bombings in flagrant breach of international law and in grave violation of relevant UN resolutions, Ambassador Jadoon said. “These Israeli actions amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity,” he added.
The unprecedented gravity of the situation demands the international community’s urgent intervention, the Pakistani envoy emphasized, urging the UN to play a proactive role in facilitating a ceasefire to alleviate the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza. “The international community must work in concert for a just, comprehensive and lasting two-state solution with a viable, sovereign and contiguous State of Palestine on the basis of pre-1967 borders, with Al Quds Al-Sharif as its capital,” Jadoon added.
