PAKISTAN, on Thursday, gave a well-calculated and measured response to the aggressive designs of the United States vis-à-vis Gaza, which President Trump wants to takeover after forcibly ejecting its inhabitants. In a strongly worded statement, the Foreign Office rejected the plan terming it unjust and a violation of international law. “The Palestinian land belongs to the Palestinian people and the only viable and just option is the two-state solution, in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions,” it added.
Pakistan’s reaction is quite understandable as it has all along been championing the cause of Palestinian people at all regional and global forums and believes there can be no durable peace and security in the Middle-East sans a just resolution of the conflict. How can the country support the outrageous idea of the American President as it is outright imperialism aimed at devouring a strategically located Strip? It is in this backdrop that the entire world including the United Nations have reacted sharply to the provocative plan of the US President but Trump seems to be unconcerned and has gone a step further in explaining his proposal.
He insisted on Thursday that Israel would hand over Gaza to the United States after fighting was over and the enclave’s population was already resettled elsewhere, which he said meant no US troops would be needed on the ground. A day after worldwide condemnation of Trump’s announcement that he aimed to take over and develop the Gaza Strip into the “Riviera of the Middle East”, Israel ordered its army to prepare to allow the “voluntary departure” of Gaza’s residents, which means beginning of the practical steps by the duo to realize the outlandish plan. Trump is so crazy to placate the Jewish state that Trump has signed an executive order sanctioning the International Criminal Court, accusing it of “illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel”, which is a pressure tactic and yet another indication that he wants to have a free-for-all environment for Israel to play havoc with the lives of Palestinians.
Therefore, the world community should not sit with crossed hands and confine itself to issuance of statements but also initiate necessary moves at all forums, especially the United Nations to prevent implementation of the plan. Declaring Trump’s move as a move to illegally occupy Palestinian land, Hamas, in a statement, has called for an urgent Arab summit to confront this imminent displacement. We believe that the OIC Secretariat should take notice of the situation and convene an extraordinary summit of the organization to discuss all aspects of the sinister plan and how to prevent it.
