Pakistan Warns of West Bank Annexation Consequences, Calls Israeli Actions a Grave Violation of International Law

United Nations – (Web Desk)

Pakistan has strongly condemned Israel’s ongoing settlement expansion, annexation policies, and actions in the occupied West Bank, warning that such measures threaten the prospects of a viable Palestinian state and undermine regional peace efforts.

Speaking at the Arria Formula Meeting on the situation in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, urged the international community to intervene urgently and ensure accountability for violations of international law.

The meeting was convened by the United Kingdom, Denmark, France, Greece, and Latvia to discuss the worsening humanitarian and political situation in the occupied Palestinian territories.

In his statement, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said that while global attention remains focused on multiple crises across the region, Israel’s systematic annexation of the occupied West Bank, expansion of illegal settlements, demolitions, land seizures, and forced displacement of Palestinians continue without interruption.

He stated that Pakistan condemns Israel’s legislative and administrative measures aimed at entrenching its occupation and transforming what he described as “de facto annexation into de jure control.”

He stressed that recent Israeli decisions granting expanded administrative authority over occupied territories, including land registration and confiscation mechanisms, constitute grave violations of international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention.

The Pakistani envoy called for the immediate reversal of such actions, warning that they are undermining the prospects for a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.

102 New Settlements Approved — Palestinian State Made Geographically Impossible

Highlighting the rapid pace of settlement expansion, Ambassador Ahmad said that in the past four years Israel had approved 102 new settlements, nearly doubling the 127 settlements that previously existed in the occupied territories.

He noted that projects such as the controversial E-1 settlement corridor and plans for more than 3,400 housing units east of Jerusalem were designed to make a contiguous and viable Palestinian state geographically impossible.

The ambassador also expressed serious concern over rising settler violence against Palestinians.

Referring to United Nations data, he noted that 2025 witnessed the highest number of settler-related attacks since systematic documentation began in 2006.

He urged an immediate end to all settlement activity and settler violence in accordance with international law and UN Security Council Resolution 2334.

Israel’s Withholding of Palestinian Tax Revenues Deepens Fiscal Crisis

Addressing the worsening humanitarian and economic situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, Ambassador Ahmad said Israel’s continued withholding of Palestinian tax revenues had deepened the fiscal crisis and weakened the Palestinian Authority’s ability to provide essential services.

He stressed that preserving the institutional and territorial integrity of the occupied Palestinian territory remains essential for achieving the two-state solution.

Pakistan Reaffirms Longstanding Support for Palestinian Cause

Reaffirming Pakistan’s longstanding support for the Palestinian cause, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad stated that the only viable path to a just, lasting, and comprehensive peace lies in ending the Israeli occupation of Arab territories.

He called for establishing an independent, sovereign, contiguous, and viable State of Palestine based on pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.