LAHORE: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said on Tuesday that any attempt to impose a solution to the Palestine issue without the consent of Palestinians would fail, stressing that Hamas was the “real stakeholder” and no resolution was possible without its involvement.
The White House has unveiled a proposal to end Israel’s war in Gaza that would see the territory placed under a temporary governing structure, with US President Donald Trump and former UK prime minister Tony Blair at its centre
Addressing a press conference in Lahore, he said the Palestinian question was the most pressing issue facing the world today. He recalled that Pakistan’s founder had termed the creation of Israel “a dagger in the back of the Arab world.”
Calling Israel an “illegitimate state,” he vowed never to accept it and criticised US President Donald Trump’s latest plan, saying he was “forcing his way through threats” rather than pursuing diplomacy.
The JUI-F chief said that a two-state solution could not be imposed on Palestinians. “Israel does not accept Palestine and Palestinians do not accept Israel,” he said, adding that the deaths of over 100,000 Palestinians could not be ignored while individuals elsewhere were punished for far less.
Fazlur Rehman said that the US had sidelined Hamas despite it being a core party to the conflict. He accused Washington and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu of pursuing an expansionist agenda for Israel, which he said could never address Palestinian rights.
He also criticised Pakistan’s leadership for presenting a weak stance at the UN General Assembly, warning that such compromises would only embolden Israel and weaken the Arab position.
“Peace agreements have often turned into daggers in the backs of Muslims, as seen in Bosnia,” he said.
Fazlur Rehman insisted that Palestine’s freedom, with Jerusalem as its capital, was the only acceptable solution.
He warned Pakistani leaders not to deviate from the country’s historical stance on Palestine and urged political parties to give the issue the importance it deserved.
He further said that any move to recognise Israel is unacceptable to the people of Pakistan.
“Trump does not deserve a Nobel Peace Prize, he deserves a Nobel for war,” he added.
Earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed full support to the Gaza peace plan that US President Donald Trump has presented and said a peaceful resolution of the Palestine issue was “essential in bringing political stability and economic growth to the region”.
Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday said the Gaza peace plan envisaged deploying a peace force — “temporary international stabilization force” — in Palestine and Indonesia had offered contributing a 20,000-strong contingent for the purpose.