ANKARA

A joint online panel of Turkish and Pakistani NGOs on Saturday discussed Israel’s latest offensive against residents of the Gaza Strip.

The panel on the Israeli aggression in Gaza and the plight of the Palestinians was organized by the Istanbul-based ILKE Foundation for Science, Culture and Education and the Islamabad-based Institute of Policy Studies think tank.

Panelists from three countries included Palestinian-American author and journalist Ramzy Baroud, Pakistani politician Mushahid Hussain Syed and Institute of Political Studies president Khalid Rahman. The discussion was moderated by Istanbul-based academician and researcher Ahsan Shafiq of the ILKE Foundation.

“I recently wrote articles for some magazines and newspapers in Pakistan and was told to explain why Pakistan should not normalize with Israel,” according to Baroud, who noted US pressure on various countries, including Pakistan, to recognize Israel. .

He thanked Pakistan for not recognizing Israel despite intense pressure and asserted that Palestine is not only a problem for Muslims, but Muslims are at the heart of the place.

Pragmatic measures to lift the blockade in Gaza

Syed said Israel should stand trial for committing war crimes against humanity for what it has done, stressing the importance of pragmatic measures to end the plight of Palestinian Muslims and lift the strip’s blockade from Gaza, in particular by sending humanitarian aid via a joint flotilla. with several countries.

Referring to Pakistan’s policy with Israel, he said: “Its policy on Israel was not stated by any party or government, but the founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, popular as Quaid-e-Azam, or the great leader. “

Pakistan is the only non-Arab Muslim country whose pilots have gone to fight against Israel in two Arab-Israeli wars, he said.

He congratulated the Turkish president for taking the lead. “President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has shown courage and vision and Pakistan has joined forces with Turkey as well.”

“I would also like to salute the Hamas leadership for taking a very strong position and for firing more than 3,000 rockets despite the relentless aerial bombardment by Israel,” he said.

On Friday, an Egypt-brokered ceasefire between Palestinian resistance groups and Israel went into effect, ending 11 days of fighting.

At least 279 Palestinians have been killed, including 69 children and 40 women, and 1,910 others injured in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

Twelve Israelis were also killed by Palestinian rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.

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