Pakistan slams Israel’s annexation over parts of Occupied West Bank

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan strongly condemned Israel’s attempt to extend its so-called “sovereignty” over parts of the Occupied West Bank, including illegal Israeli settlements, through a draft law introduced in the legislature of the occupying power.

These actions constitute a flagrant violation of international law, relevant United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions, and the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.

“Such provocative and unlawful measures undermine ongoing efforts to achieve peace and stability in the region,” Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Tahir Indrabi said in a statement issued here on Thursday.

It is worth mentioning here that Israeli lawmakers voted on Wednesday to go ahead with two controversial bills on annexing the occupied West Bank. The contentious laws were being introduced hardly a week after US President Donald Trump brokered an agreement with Hamas aimed at ending Israel’s two-year military offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, however, rejected the legislation, which was tabled by legislators outside his ruling coalition and passed by a vote of 25-24 out of 120 lawmakers.

A second bill presented by an opposition party proposing the annexation of the Maale Adumim settlement passed by 31-9.

Pakistan calls upon the international community to take urgent and decisive action to halt these illegal steps and to hold the Israeli occupying forces accountable for their continued violations of international law.

FO states that Pakistan reiterates its commitment to working with regional and international partners to uphold the rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to self-determination, and to ensure peace, justice, and dignity for the Palestinians.

It also reaffirms its unwavering support for the Palestinian cause, including the establishment of an independent, sovereign, viable, and contiguous State of Palestine, based on pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025