Fri 15-November-2024

Pakistan condemns forced displacement of Palestinians

Saturday 18-November-2023

Pakistan has condemned Israel’s attempt at “forced displacement” of Palestinians by ordering them to relocate to the west of Gaza and demanded international community to pressure Israel to cease hostilities and its occupation of Palestinian territories Pakistan’s permanent mission to the United Nations said.

Israel issued a fresh warning to Palestinians in the southern city of Khan Younis to relocate west out of the line of fire and closer to humanitarian aid in the latest indication that it plans to attack Hamas in south Gaza after subduing the north.

Such a move could compel hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled south from the Israeli assault on Gaza City to relocate again along with residents of Khan Younis worsening a dire humanitarian crisis. Khan Younis has a population of more than 400000.

On Friday Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN Ambassador Munir Akram made a statement on behalf of a group of countries at the informal plenary meeting of the UN General Assembly on the Gaza situation.

“We firmly reject and condemn any attempt at the forced displacement of the Palestinian civilian population and the illegal evacuations and relocations inside Gaza and consider it a grave violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 and its 1977 Protocol” the Pakistan mission to the UN quoted Akram as saying in a post on X.

Israel has vowed to “wipe out” Hamas that controls the Gaza Strip following an Oct. 7 attack in which its fighters killed 1200 people and dragged 240 hostages into the enclave.

Since then Israel has bombed much of Gaza City to rubble ordered the depopulation of the entire northern half of the enclave and left around two-thirds of the Strip’s 2.3 million Palestinians homeless.

Many of those who have fled fear their displacement could become permanent. Gaza health authorities have raised their death toll to more than 12000 people 5000 of them children.

The Pakistani representative called on the international community and concerned countries not only to promptly address the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip but also to compel Israel to cease its occupation and hostilities put an end to atrocities guarantee unimpeded access to humanitarian aid and accelerate the prompt delivery of vital supplies to Gaza and ensure that those responsible are held accountable for their criminal acts against the Palestinian people.

The countries on whose behalf the statement was made are Algeria Bolivia China Cuba Egypt Eritrea Iran Saudi Arabia Libya Nicaragua Nigeria the Russian Federation Sri Lanka Syria Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

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