Pakistan, 90 other nations call for reversal of Israeli punitive measures against Palestinians

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan, as chairman of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and over 90 countries has expressed concerns at Israel’s punitive measures against the Palestinian people, leadership and civil society.

All the countries have signed a joint statement, calling for the reversal of the measures – a same demand made by some 40 countries at the United Nations on Monday.  

Last month, the UN General Assembly approved a landmark resolution requesting the Hague-based International Court of Justice to give its opinion on the legality of Israeli policies in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem.

In retaliation, Israel imposed a series of sanctions, including financial ones, on January 6 against the Palestinian Authority (PA) to make it “pay the price” for pushing for the resolution. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the measures stating that they were aimed at what he called “an extreme anti-Israel” step at the United Nations.

The measures included withdrawing special benefits from PA officials that allowed them and their families to go through checkpoints that are closed to most Palestinians. They also included seizing tax revenues and ban on Palestinian construction in Area C of the Occupied West Bank.

“Regardless of each country’s position on the resolution, we reject punitive measures in response to a request for an advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice, and more broadly in response to a General Assembly resolution, and call for their immediate reversal,” the statement said.

On Monday, a spokesperson of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he “notes with deep concern the recent Israeli measures against the Palestinian Authority” and that there should “be no retaliation with respect to the Palestinian Authority in relation to the International Court of Justice.“

The ,onday’s statement was signed by countries that voted for this resolution (Algeria, Argentina, Belgium, Ireland, Pakistan and South Africa, among others) but also by some that abstained — Japan, France and South Korea — and others that voted against, like Germany and Estonia, state broadcaster reported.

Palestine’s U.N. Ambassador Riyad Mansour hailed the statement of support, saying that “we exercised our democratic rights to go to the General Assembly in a peaceful way, a legal way, and put a question to the ICJ to seek an advisory opinion.”