By Aamir Latif
KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – Pakistan on Thursday urged the UN to play a "proactive" role in facilitating a cease-fire to contain the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza amid "indiscriminate and disproportionate” use of force by Israel.
“The international community must work in concert for a just comprehensive and lasting two-state solution with a viable, sovereign and contiguous state of Palestine on the basis of pre-1967 borders, with Al Quds Sharif (Jerusalem) as its capital,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said while addressing a weekly press briefing in Islamabad.
“Peace in the Middle East will remain elusive in the absence of such a solution,” she said, calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities.
“The current cycle of aggression and violence is a sad reminder and a direct consequence of over seven decades of illegal foreign occupation, aggression, and disrespect for international law, including UNSC (Security Council) resolutions that recognize the inalienable right to self-determination of the Palestinian people,” she maintained.
She said Islamabad is "deeply" concerned by the "fast deteriorating and dire humanitarian situation in Gaza due to the inhumane blockade and collective punishment by Israeli forces.”
Referring to a "total siege" imposed by Israel to stop food and fuel from reaching the 2.3 million population in Gaza, Baloch observed that the decision to cut off electricity, fuel, and water supplies is “unjust and should be reversed as it would severely impact the lives of millions of people in the (Gaza) enclave.”
In a dramatic escalation of Mideast tensions, Israeli forces have launched a sustained and forceful military campaign against the Gaza Strip, a response to a military offensive by the Palestinian group Hamas in Israeli territories.
The conflict began when Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against Israel, a multi-pronged surprise attack including a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel via land, sea, and air, which Hamas said was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli settlers’ growing violence against Palestinians.
In response to Hamas' actions, the Israeli military launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip.
Israel's response has extended into cutting water and electricity supplies to Gaza, further worsening the living conditions in an area that has reeled under a crippling siege since 2007.