FM Dar says Netanyahu’s remarks on displacing Palestinians ‘irresponsible, provocative’

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Sunday — while strongly condemning Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statement suggesting that the Palestinian people should establish a state in Saudi Arabia — said that the “remark is irresponsible, provocative and thoughtless”.

Israeli officials have suggested the establishment of a Palestinian state on Saudi territory.

Netanyahu appeared to be joking on Thursday when he responded to an interviewer on pro-Netanyahu Channel 14 who mistakenly said “Saudi state” instead of “Palestinian state”, before correcting himself.

According to a statement issued by the Foreign Office today, FM Dar said, “Israeli remark is irresponsible, provocative and thoughtless, which is not only deeply offensive but also undermines and disregards the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination and an independent state on their own historical and legitimate territory.”

He stated that Pakistan stood in solidarity with Saudi Arabia, commending its steadfast support for the Palestinian people and their just cause.

Any attempt to undermine Saudi Arabia’s unwavering position and misrepresentation of its commitment to the Palestinian cause is deeply regrettable, the statement said.

FM Dar said Pakistan firmly believed that the Palestinian people have an “inalienable right to establish an independent and sovereign state based on the pre-1967 borders, with Al Quds Al Sharif as its capital”.

“Any proposal that seeks to displace or relocate the Palestinian people from their ancestral homeland is unacceptable and constitutes a blatant violation of international law, United Nations resolutions and the principles of justice and fairness,” the statement added, reiterating Pakistan’s “unflinching support for the Palestinian cause”.

It said that Pakistan would continue to work closely with Saudi Arabia and the international community in advocating for the rights of the Palestinian people and “to achieve a just, comprehensive and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue”.

“Pakistan urges the international community to denounce this provocative remark and hold Israel accountable for its continued attempts to undermine the peace process,” the statement said.

Separately, FM Dar “discussed the evolving situation in Gaza” with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, the foreign office said in a post on X.

FM Dar — in a telephonic conversation with FM Fidan — expressed Pakistan’s steadfast commitment to the Palestinian people, reiterating the country’s support for the “establishment of a sovereign, independent, and contiguous Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders”.

Dar expressed Pakistan’s grave concern at the proposal calling for the “displacement of Palestinian people and reiterated that Palestinian land belongs to the people of Palestine”.

The two ministers agreed to support the convening of an Extraordinary Organisation of Islamic Cooperation ministerial meeting to deliberate upon the “urgent and burning issue”, agreeing to “maintain close contact” in the coming days.

In an earlier statement by the Saudi foreign ministry, Saudi Arabia affirmed its categorical rejection of remarks by Netanyahu.

While the Saudi statement mentioned Netanyahu’s name, it did not directly refer to the comments about establishing a Palestinian state in Saudi territory.

Egypt and Jordan also condemned the Israeli suggestions, with Cairo deeming the idea as a “direct infringement of Saudi sovereignty”.

The kingdom said it valued “brotherly” states’ rejection of Netanyahu’s remarks.

“This occupying extremist mindset does not comprehend what the Palestinian territory means for the brotherly people of Palestine and its conscientious, historical and legal association with that land,” it said.

Discussions of the fate of Palestinians in Gaza have been upended by Tuesday’s shock proposal from President Donald Trump that the US would “take over the Gaza Strip” from Israel and create a “Riviera of the Middle East” after resettling Palestinians elsewhere.

Arab states have roundly condemned Trump’s comments, which came during a fragile ceasefire in the Gaza bombardment that Israel has been waging against the fighter group Hamas, which controls the narrow strip.

Trump has said Saudi Arabia was not demanding a Palestinian state as a condition for normalising ties with Israel. But Riyadh rebuffed his statements, saying it would not establish ties with Israel without the creation of a Palestinian state.

Gaza authorities say the bombardment has killed more than 47,000 of the nearly 2 million Palestinians who live there.

Israel launched its offensive after Hamas fighters killed some 1,200 people and seized more than 250 as hostages in an October 7, 2023, attack, according to Israeli tallies.

GCC ‘strongly condemns’ Netanyahu’s comments

In a separate statement, the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) also “strongly condemned” Netanyahu’s statement.

GCC Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi said in a statement that “these dangerous and irresponsible statements confirm the approach of the Israeli occupation forces in their lack of respect for international laws and treaties, as well as the sovereignty of nations”.

He affirmed the “firm and steadfast position of the Kingdom and the GCC countries in supporting the Palestinian people in obtaining their legitimate rights and the significant and valuable efforts exerted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the GCC countries in regional and international forums to support the Palestinian cause”.

The official also renewed his call on the international community “to seriously and decisively stand against these aggressive Israeli statements, which pose a threat and danger to the security and stability of the region and the world at large”.