ISLAMABAD: Pakistan among eight Arab-Islamic states on Sunday condemned statements made by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz about the displacement of the Palestinian people from the Gaza Strip, including plans and mechanisms aimed at forcibly removing Palestinians from their land.

Ben-Gvir this week set out a plan for the illegal forced expulsion of all Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, with the intention of sending them abroad. He said the plan aimed to remove 250,000 Palestinians from Gaza in the first year, followed by the rest of its population of roughly 2 million over the next six years.

In a statement, the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and the United Arab Emirates said such inflammatory statements and proposals flagrantly violate principles of international law and pose a direct threat to the legitimate and inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.

“The Ministers reaffirm their unequivocal rejection and condemnation of any attempts or plans aimed at displacing the Palestinian people, whether within or outside the Occupied Palestinian Territory, under any pretext or justification. They warn against the grave consequences of turning calls for forced displacement into declared policy or concrete measures aimed at uprooting Palestinians from their land,” the Pakistani foreign ministry said in a joint statement.

“Such actions constitute a direct challenge to international efforts aimed at achieving peace, foremost among them President Donald Trump’s Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict, including its unequivocal rejection of forced displacement, and gravely risk undermining prospects for stability in the region.”

The foreign ministers stressed that the Gaza Strip is an integral part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory and underscored the imperative of preserving the unity of the Palestinian territory in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

“They reaffirm that the only path toward achieving a just and lasting peace lies in the implementation of the two-State solution with the establishment of an independent Palestinian State along the lines of 4 June 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with the relevant resolutions of international legitimacy,” the statement said.

“The Ministers also call upon the international community, particularly the United Nations Security Council, to shoulder its responsibilities and firmly confront any attempts to impose a new demographic or geographic reality in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and to ensure respect for the rules of international law. They reaffirm their continued full support for the steadfastness of the Palestinian people on their land and their rejection of all attempts aimed at erasing the Palestinian cause or undermining the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.”