Pakistan reaffirmed its solidarity with Saudi Arabia, commending Kingdom\u2019s steadfast support for the Palestinian cause
\n Islamabad
\nDeputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Sunday \u2014 while strongly condemning Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s statement suggesting that the Palestinian people should establish a state in Saudi Arabia \u2014 said that the \u201cremark is irresponsible, provocative and thoughtless\u201d.
\nIsraeli officials have suggested the establishment of a Palestinian state on Saudi territory.
\nNetanyahu appeared to be joking on Thursday when he responded to an interviewer on pro-Netanyahu Channel 14 who mistakenly said \u201cSaudi state\u201d instead of \u201cPalestinian state\u201d, before correcting himself. According to a statement issued by the Foreign Office today, FM Dar said, \u201cIsraeli remark is irresponsible, provocative and thoughtless, which is not only deeply offensive but also undermines and disregards the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination and an independent state on their own historical and legitimate territory.\u201d
\nHe stated that Pakistan stood in solidarity with Saudi Arabia, commending its steadfast support for the Palestinian people and their just cause.
\nAny attempt to undermine Saudi Arabia\u2019s unwavering position and misrepresentation of its commitment to the Palestinian cause is deeply regrettable, the statement said.
\nFM Dar said Pakistan firmly believed that the Palestinian people have an \u201cinalienable right to establish an independent and sovereign state based on the pre-1967 borders, with Al Quds Al Sharif as its capital\u201d.
\n\u201cAny proposal that seeks to displace or relocate the Palestinian people from their ancestral homeland is unacceptable and constitutes a blatant violation of international law, United Nations resolutions and the principles of justice and fairness,\u201d the statement added, reiterating Pakistan\u2019s \u201cunflinching support for the Palestinian cause\u201d.
\nIt said that Pakistan would continue to work closely with Saudi Arabia and the international community in advocating for the rights of the Palestinian people and \u201cto achieve a just, comprehensive and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue\u201d.
\n\u201cPakistan urges the international community to denounce this provocative remark and hold Israel accountable for its continued attempts to undermine the peace process,\u201d the statement said.
\nSeparately, FM Dar \u201cdiscussed the evolving situation in Gaza\u201d with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, the foreign office said in a post on X.
\nFM Dar \u2014 in a telephonic conversation with FM Fidan \u2014 expressed Pakistan\u2019s steadfast commitment to the Palestinian people, reiterating the country\u2019s support for the \u201cestablishment of a sovereign, independent, and contiguous Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders\u201d.
\nDar expressed Pakistan\u2019s grave concern at the proposal calling for the \u201cdisplacement of Palestinian people and reiterated that Palestinian land belongs to the people of Palestine\u201d.
\nThe two ministers agreed to support the convening of an Extraordinary Organisation of Islamic Cooperation ministerial meeting to deliberate upon the \u201curgent and burning issue\u201d, agreeing to \u201cmaintain close contact\u201d in the coming days.
\nIn an earlier statement by the Saudi foreign ministry, Saudi Arabia affirmed its categorical rejection of remarks by Netanyahu.
\nWhile the Saudi statement mentioned Netanyahu\u2019s name, it did not directly refer to the comments about establishing a Palestinian state in Saudi territory.
\nEgypt and Jordan also condemned the Israeli suggestions, with Cairo deeming the idea as a \u201cdirect infringement of Saudi sovereignty\u201d.
\nThe kingdom said it valued \u201cbrotherly\u201d states\u2019 rejection of Netanyahu\u2019s remarks.
\n\u201cThis occupying extremist mindset does not comprehend what the Palestinian territory means for the brotherly people of Palestine and its conscientious, historical and legal association with that land,\u201d it said.
\nDiscussions of the fate of Palestinians in Gaza have been upended by Tuesday\u2019s shock proposal from President Donald Trump that the US would \u201ctake over the Gaza Strip\u201d from Israel and create a \u201cRiviera of the Middle East\u201d after resettling Palestinians elsewhere.
\nArab states have roundly condemned Trump\u2019s comments, which came during a fragile ceasefire in the Gaza bombardment that Israel has been waging against the fighter group Hamas, which controls the narrow strip.
\nTrump has said Saudi Arabia was not demanding a Palestinian state as a condition for normalising ties with Israel. But Riyadh rebuffed his statements, saying it would not establish ties with Israel without the creation of a Palestinian state.
\nGaza authorities say the bombardment has killed more than 47,000 of the nearly 2 million Palestinians who live there.
\nIsrael launched its offensive after Hamas fighters killed some 1,200 people and seized more than 250 as hostages in an October 7, 2023, attack, according to Israeli tallies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pakistan reaffirmed its solidarity with Saudi Arabia, commending Kingdom\u2019s steadfast support for the Palestinian cause Islamabad Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Sunday \u2014 while strongly condemning Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s statement suggesting that the Palestinian people should establish a state in Saudi Arabia \u2014 said that the \u201cremark is irresponsible, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":456583,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-460506","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n