ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday condemned recent remarks by Israeli leaders about the creation of a so-called “Greater Israel,” calling the statements a violation of international law and an attempt to forcibly displace Palestinians from Gaza.
The comments by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in recent days have triggered widespread outrage across the Arab and Muslim world.
Netanyahu said in a recent interview he felt “very much” connected to the vision of “Greater Israel,” describing it as a “historic and spiritual mission.” Smotrich announced plans to expand settlement building in the occupied West Bank to “bury the idea of a Palestinian state.”
Arab states, including the UAE, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, as well as the Palestinian Authority, have denounced the comments.
“Pakistan strongly condemns and rejects recent statements made by the Israeli Occupying power, alluding to the creation of so-called ‘Greater Israel,’ and its designs aimed at the forcible displacement of Palestinians from Gaza,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.
