ISLAMABAD: Mohammad Ishaq Dar Deputy Prime Minister on Sunday expressed the hope that the incoming US administration would, on a priority basis, lend its weight to reinvigorate efforts for peace in the Middle East in accordance with the UN resolutions and international law.

Addressing the Council of Foreign Ministers Preparatory Meeting for the Second Arab-Islamic Summit on the Situation in Middle East, Mr Dar said mere condemnation of Israeli actions would not be enough.

Mr Dar, who is also foreign minister, urged the Muslim leadership to act now to fulfil the moral and legal duty to stand with the people of Palestine for their rights and demand justice for them.

“The whole Muslim Ummah is looking at us today. We need to demonstrate unwavering political will and complete unity and take concrete steps to effectively address the situation at hand.”

He called for securing an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza and the region, ensuring unfettered humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians, forcing Israel to stop demonisation of UNRWA and urging the United Nations General Assembly to ensure UNRWA continues its vital operations.

The deputy PM also called for pursuing full implementation of the UNGA resolution ES-10/24, supporting Palestine’s admission as a full member of the UN and exploring legal avenues to hold Israel accountable for war crimes.

The resolution also calls for imposing an immediate arms embargo on Israel, undertaking a comprehensive review of Israel’s membership of the UN, and nominating a Joint Arab-Islamic Special Envoy on Middle East as a focal point to coordinate progress on the implementation of the resolutions adopted by the Summits.

He said the first Joint Arab-Islamic Summit in Riyadh in November last year had made far-reaching decisions to end war in Gaza. However, he added, unfortunately, after more than a year, the situation in the Middle East had become worse.

“Israel has been contravening all international norms and laws with impunity. The Israeli occupying forces continue to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity against the innocent Palestinians,” he lamented.

“The reckless pursuit of a so-called greater Israel by encroaching upon the sovereignty of states beyond Palestine, is fraught with serious implications for regional peace and stability,” he warned, adding that Pakistan strongly condemned Israel’s military strikes against the brotherly countries in blatant violation of the UN Charter and international law.

He regretted that the UN Security Council has rem­ained ineffective, whi­le cal­ls by the Gen­eral Asse­mbly, OIC, and the Intern­ational Court of Jus­tice for a ceasefire, unimpeded humanitarian aid, and civilian protection we­re also utterly disregarded.

Congratulating Saudi Arabia for holding the inaugural meeting of the Global Alliance for Implementation of a Two-State Solution last month, Mr Dar assured that Pakistan would abide by its commitment to engage with the alliance to achieve its objectives.

He said Pakistan had alwa­ys been a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause.

“Since October last year, Pakistan has sent 12 consignments comprising hum­a­nitarian assistance for our Palestinian brethren. Bes­ides, Palestinian students are being provided additional scholarships at various Pakistani educational facilities. Pakis­tan is also taking Palestinian medical students to complete their education in Pakistan’s me­d­­i­cal institutions,” he added.

The foreign minister announced that Pakistan will continue to champion the rights of its Palestinian brethren until the creation of a viable, contiguous, and sovereign state of Palestine based on the pre-June 1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

He extended his appreciation to King Sal­man bin Abdul Aziz, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Foreign Min­ister Faisal bin Far­h­an for convening the crucial meeting for the preparation of the Summit tomorrow.