• Foreign ministers of Pakistan, seven other Muslim nations slam Israeli ministers’ statements
• Say forced displacement will violate international law, destabilise region
• Netanyahu orders dismantling of unauthorised settler outposts in West Bank

ISLAMABAD / TEL AVIV: Pakistan and seven other Muslim countries on Sunday condemned Israeli ministers’ statements regarding the displacement of the Palestinian people from the Gaza Strip, including proposals for plans and mechanisms aimed at forcibly removing them from their land.

Earlier this week, Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Defence Minister Israel Katz floated proposals for the mass removal of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, resurfacing an idea voiced repeatedly by right-wing politicians over the past three years as they seek to rally supporters ahead of an election.

Katz said on Wednesday that Israel had plans to remove Palestinians from Gaza but was waiting for US approval on where to displace the territory’s population.

A day later, Ben-Gvir said the plan aimed to remove 250,000 Palestinians from Gaza in the first year, followed by the rest of the roughly two million residents over the following six years.

The foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and the United Arab Emirates strongly condemned the remarks in a joint statement.

“Such inflammatory statements and proposals flagrantly violate principles of international law, including international humanitarian law, and pose a direct threat to the legitimate and inalienable rights of the Palestinian people,” the statement said.

The ministers reaffirmed their unequivocal rejection and condemnation of any attempts or plans aimed at displacing the Palestinian peo­ple, whether within or out­side the occupied Palest­inian territory, under any pretext or justification.

They warned against the “grave consequences of turning calls for forced displacement into declared policy or concrete measures aimed at uprooting Palestinians from their land”.

“Such actions constitute a challenge to international efforts aimed at achieving peace, foremost among them President Donald Trump’s comprehensive plan to end the Gaza conflict, including its unequivocal rejection of forced displacement, and gra­vely risk undermining prospects for stability in the region.”

The foreign ministers stres­sed that the Gaza Strip was an integral part of the Pales­tinian territory and underscored the imperative of preserving the unity of the Palestinian territory in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

West Bank settler outposts

Israeli Prime Minister Ben­jamin Netanyahu has ordered unauthorised settler outposts in the West Bank to be dismantled, two people familiar with the matter said on Sunday, amid pressure from the US to crack down on settler attacks on Palestinians, Reuters reported.

The order applies to outposts established by settlers without official authorisation from the Israeli state, the sources said.

It was not immediately clear when the operation would begin.

UN bodies and most governments deem all Israeli settlements illegal under international law and consider the West Bank to be occupied territory under military control.

Published in Dawn, September 7th, 2026