United Nations: (TDI): Pakistan has voiced serious concern at the United Nations over what it described as Israel’s ongoing and systematic annexation of the occupied West Bank, warning that expanding settlements and the forced displacement of Palestinians are threatening prospects for a viable Palestinian state.
Speaking at an Arria-formula meeting on the occupied Palestinian territories, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said the international community must urgently respond to developments on the ground.
He warned that while global attention remained focused on multiple regional crises, Israel continued to expand illegal settlements, demolish Palestinian properties, seize land and displace civilians across the occupied West Bank.
According to Ambassador Ahmad, Israeli actions were transforming “de facto annexation into de jure control” through legislative and administrative measures aimed at entrenching occupation. He said recent Israeli decisions involving land registration, confiscation mechanisms and expanded administrative authority violated international law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Pakistan also criticized the continued expansion of settlements, noting that Israel had approved more than 100 new settlements in recent years, significantly increasing its footprint in occupied Palestinian territory.
The envoy specifically highlighted the controversial E-1 settlement project and new housing developments east of Jerusalem, saying such projects would make a geographically contiguous Palestinian state impossible.
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He further raised concern over rising settler violence against Palestinians, citing United Nations data showing that 2025 recorded the highest number of settler-related attacks since documentation began in 2006.
Calling for compliance with international law and UN Security Council resolutions, including Resolution 2334, Pakistan urged an immediate halt to all settlement activities and violence by settlers.
Ambassador Ahmad also warned of worsening humanitarian and economic conditions in the occupied territories, accusing Israel of deepening the crisis by withholding Palestinian tax revenues and undermining the functioning of Palestinian institutions.
He stressed that preserving the territorial and institutional integrity of the occupied Palestinian territories remained essential for any future peace process.
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Reaffirming Pakistan’s longstanding support for the Palestinian cause, the ambassador said lasting peace in the Middle East could only be achieved through an end to Israeli occupation and the creation of an independent Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders, with Jerusalem, referred to as Al-Quds Al-Sharif, as its capital.
