Islamabad: Eight Arab and Muslim nations, including Pakistan, Türkiye, and Saudi Arabia, have welcomed the United Kingdom’s decision to ban imports from illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and restrict services linked to those activities.
In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Türkiye, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates praised the measures and urged the international community to take similar action. The group called on global powers to uphold international law, enforce compliance, and hold accountable any organisations or individuals involved in unlawful settlement expansion within Palestinian land.
The joint declaration emphasised the need for concrete international steps to curb settlement expansion, which the ministers reiterated violates established international legal frameworks. The eight nations urged external partners to build upon the UK's policy framework to halt actions that sustain the illegal settlements.
Addressing the broader geopolitical crisis, the ministers reaffirmed that Gaza remains an integral component of the Occupied Palestinian Territory. They stressed that stability cannot be achieved through unilateral shifts in geography or demographics.
The statement concluded with a shared commitment to regional diplomacy, maintaining that a just, lasting, and comprehensive peace relies entirely on a viable two-state solution. The ministers declared that peace requires the establishment of an independent, sovereign, contiguous, and viable Palestinian state based on the borders of 4 June 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
