"Statement by Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN, At the UN Security Council Meeting on the Situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian Question (2334) (29 June 2026) ******* We thank Mr. Ramiz Alakbarov, Deputy Special Coordinator for his briefing. Also appreciate the statements by Mr. Epshtain and Ms. Barghouti. 2. One thing is striking from the briefings this morning, and the statements by Council members. You would not see more expressions of concern regarding flagrant violations of international law, more calls for accountability in the context which exists, where the grave consequences emanating from an ever-expanding and entrenching occupation are before this Council. 3. That is because, the situation across the Occupied Palestinian Territory remains dire and shows no sign of abating. 4. The West Bank is witnessing its largest and deadliest wave of settlement expansion and highest sustained levels of settler violence. The Secretary-General's report documents that 4,750 housing units were advanced or approved during the reporting period, including 34 settlements approved in a single cabinet decision – the highest to date. Israel's newly launched online land registration platform in Area C systematically facilitates the dispossession of Palestinian property under the guise of bureaucratic procedure. The controversial and illegal E-1 project is the strategic lynchpin that would carve the West Bank into isolated enclaves, targeting the viability of a contiguous Palestinian state. 5. Alongside this, legitimate institutions of governance are being choked and suffocated by withholding the revenues of the Palestinian Authority by Israel. 6. What we are witnessing is not a series of isolated incidents, but a deliberate and systemic pattern. This is an ecosystem of occupation in which settlement expansion, annexation, demolitions, forced evictions, displacement, and revenue withholding are mutually reinforcing – enabled by both brute military force and a legal juggernaut designed to legitimize the illegitimate. This is not chaos; it is a calculated framework to entrench illegal Israeli occupation. 7. On June 18th, the Foreign Ministers of the Group of 8 Arab-Islamic countries, of which Pakistan is a member, condemned in the strongest terms the continued and escalating settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including recent attacks on various mosques. The Ministers affirmed their total rejection of these deplorable attacks, as well as the continued illegal Israeli measures in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. President, 8. In Gaza, while the Board of Peace has overseen improvements in humanitarian conditions, the situation remains dire. Widespread hunger, severe shortages of clean water and medical care, inadequate sanitation, and the unchecked spread of disease have left more than 90 percent of the population living in catastrophic conditions. Despite the ceasefire, 981 Palestinians, including women and children, have been killed. The recent report of the Independent Commission of Inquiry is a scathing indictment of the deliberate targeting and killing of Palestinian children by the Israeli occupation forces. There must be accountability for this. President, 9. All these grave developments need to be seen in the context of continuing statements by Israel rejecting the idea of a Palestinian state and hence the two-state solution. It is absolutely clear as to where lies the problem. Piecemeal approach will not work. It is time for this Council to undertake a holistic assessment of the situation across all of occupied Palestinian territory and firmly tackle the obstacles to peace. The Council must, first, compel Israel to immediately and completely cease all settlement activities which constitute a flagrant violation of international law. Second, all attempts at annexation of land, demolitions, forced evictions, and displacements of Palestinians must be halted and reversed. The Palestinian population must be protected from settler violence, and all perpetrators must be fully held to account. The Council must reiterate its firm rejection of forced displacement. Third, the Council must bring pressure to bear on Israel, the occupying power to release without further delay, the revenues of the Palestinian Authority to address the mounting fiscal crisis. Fourth, the Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict and resolution 2803 must be fully implemented. President, 10. The General Assembly's endorsement of the New York Declaration last year charted a pathway toward Palestinian statehood. In parallel, efforts led by the United States, supported by Arab and Islamic countries, have advanced the Comprehensive Peace Plan. These initiatives, including the Board of Peace under Resolution 2803, must translate into action: a permanent ceasefire across the OPT, surge in humanitarian aid, the rebuilding of Gaza, and a definitive end to all illegal settlement activities. Ultimate goal is the end of occupation. The establishment of an independent, sovereign, and contiguous State of Palestine on pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds and Al-Sharif as its capital, remains the only guarantee for lasting peace in the region. I thank you."