Pakistan Warns UNSC Israeli Settlements Threaten Two-State Solution
Pakistan used a United Nations Security Council session in New York to raise alarm over accelerating Israeli settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territories, warning that the latest expansion is eroding the foundations of a two-state solution. The discussion took place on Monday as the council reviewed the worsening situation in Gaza and the West Bank amid renewed international concern over violence, displacement and land seizures.
The session focused on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which deals with Israeli settlements in territories occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem. Council members were briefed on deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Gaza and growing tensions across the West Bank, where settlement construction and settler-related violence have intensified.
Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, told the council that recent developments should not be seen as separate incidents but as part of a wider pattern. He pointed to the approval or advancement of 4,750 housing units and an Israeli cabinet decision linked to 34 settlements, describing the current wave of settlement activity as among the most serious in recent memory.
Ambassador Ahmad also criticised Israel’s online land registration mechanism in Area C, warning that it could make the dispossession of Palestinian property easier. He said the E-1 settlement project was especially dangerous because it could split the West Bank into disconnected enclaves, making a viable Palestinian state increasingly difficult to realise.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza was another major focus of Pakistan’s intervention. Despite a ceasefire and international attempts to create a political framework for peace, Ambassador Ahmad warned that conditions remain severe, with large parts of the population facing hunger, water shortages and disease. His remarks reflected Pakistan’s long-standing diplomatic position that Palestinian statehood and the protection of civilians must remain central to any settlement.
UN officials also placed the crisis in a broader context. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, in a quarterly report discussed around the meeting, warned that continued settlement expansion and settler outposts were contributing to major displacement in the West Bank. European council members including France, Britain, Greece, Latvia and Denmark separately urged Israel to halt settlement activity.
For Pakistan, the issue carries both diplomatic and domestic significance. Islamabad has consistently backed Palestinian self-determination at international forums, and the Gaza crisis continues to draw strong public attention across Pakistan. By speaking at the Security Council, Pakistan is seeking to keep pressure on the international community to address both immediate humanitarian needs and the political roots of the conflict.
The next phase will depend on whether Security Council members can translate repeated warnings into practical pressure for compliance with international law. With settlement activity continuing and Gaza’s humanitarian crisis unresolved, Pakistan’s latest statement signals that Islamabad will keep using multilateral platforms to push for an end to occupation, civilian protection and a credible path toward Palestinian statehood.