Only two-state solution can end Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Pakistan urges UN

Pakistan has called for concrete steps by the United Nations (UN) to put an end to the Israel-Palestine conflict, saying a lasting end can only come through a two-state solution.

“It is now time for the Security Council, for the entire membership of the United Nations, to consider measures by which to reverse this wanton rejection of peace,” Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN Munir Akram said during ministerial-level debate on the ‘Situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian Question’ in the UNSC today.

“We hope the Council will be able, finally, to adopt a resolution demanding a complete cessation of hostilities, full access to humanitarian assistance for the besieged population of Gaza, and international protection for the Palestinian people,” he said.

Akram said that if the Israeli leadership persists in refusing peace, the Security Council, the General Assembly, and indeed all UN member states must take steps to hold it accountable.

“In order to ensure the inevitability of the two-state solution, it is also time to admit Palestine as a full member of the United Nations,” he added.

“Every tenet of international humanitarian law has been violated by the Israeli occupation,” Akram said.

He added that it was sad that despite the calls by the General Assembly in two resolutions, despite the near-unanimous votes in this Security Council, “the international community has failed to stop this genocide taking place in front of our eyes”.

He concluded by saying that Pakistan hopes the Security Council will be able to adopt a resolution demanding a complete cessation of hostilities, full access to “humanitarian assistance for the besieged population of Gaza, and international protection for the Palestinians”.

Meanwhile, Israel and Hamas moved closer to an agreement on a 30-day ceasefire in Gaza when Israeli hostages and Palestinians prisoners would be released, sources told Reuters.

In its biggest operation in a month, the Israeli military pressed ahead with encircling Khan Younis where hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians are sheltering.

Israeli tanks on Tuesday shut the road from Khan Younis towards the Mediterranean coast, blocking the escape route for civilians trying to reach Rafah on Gaza’s southern edge bordering Egypt - now crammed with more than half the enclave’s 2.3 million people.

Israeli forces killed more than 100 Palestinians in western Khan Younis in 24 hours, military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said on Tuesday evening.