Pakistani Senate passes resolution in support of Palestine

KARACHI, Pakistan

Pakistan's Senate, or upper house of parliament, passed a resolution Tuesday denouncing Israel's "war crimes" in Palestine during its 11-day onslaught on Gaza and reaffirming Islamabad's firm support for Palestinians in their just struggle.

In an unanimously adopted resolution, it called on the international community to take immediate and effective steps to save Palestinians from the "fascist Israeli war machine.”

Brought forward by Shahzad Waseem, the leader of the House for the Senate, the resolution followed a similar move by the lower house – the National Assembly – last week.

"The Senate of Pakistan is clear that Palestine is facing nothing less than genocide, massacre and ethnic cleansing," it said, adding "Israel is an apartheid state and guilty of war crimes and settler colonialism."

"Pakistan stands shoulder to shoulder with the struggle of the Palestinian people and we salute the valor, heroism and sacrifices of Palestinian people, including children resisting repression with grit, determination and an indomitable spirit," it maintained.

Urging the international community to call on Tel Aviv to end a long-running blockade of the Gaza Strip, the Senate called for the deployment of international observer teams in the region.

It also called on the world to send aid to Palestine, contribute to the reconstruction and rebuilding of Gaza and initiate trials against the Israeli army for its "war crimes."

Expressing resentment over the "hypocrisy and double standards" of various countries on Israeli aggression, the Senate deplored the "obfuscation of facts and politicization of the situation by a few quarters” which created a "false equivalence" between the Palestinian victims and Israeli aggressors in order to justify the Israeli attacks.

"Only a two-state solution is acceptable with the total withdrawal of Israel from all occupied Arab territories including Jerusalem and the establishment of an independent homeland for Palestinians with Al-Quds Al-Sharif [Jerusalem] as its capital," it added.

The Senate also urged the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Arab League to intensify their efforts to help the Palestinians.