ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said Pakistan stands with the people of Palestine, denouncing the recent massacre in Gaza strip by the Israeli forces.
Thirty-six people were killed and scores were injured in air strikes conducted by Israeli forces at the Gaza strip on Tuesday.
Tensions between the Israeli police and Palestinians skyrocketed after the former repeatedly attacked the latter at the Al-Aqsa mosque over the past couple of days.
Israeli forces have been attacking Palestinian worshippers with stun grenades and rubber bullets over the past several days following protests against Jewish settlements in the Sheikh Jarrah area.
The massacre invite rebuke from most Muslim countries, with PM Imran Khan tweeting his support for Palestine today as well.
"I am PM of Pakistan and #WeStandWithGaza #WeStandWithPalestine," he tweeted.
The prime minister tweeted an excerpt from what seems to be an old article of Noam Chomsky on the Palestine-Israel situation.
"You take my water, burn my olive trees, destroy my house, take my job, steal my land, imprison my father, kill my mother, bombard my country, starve us all, humiliate us all, but I am to blame: I shot a rocket back," reads the statement.
This is, by far, the heaviest exchange between Israel and Hamas since a 2014 war in Gaza, and prompted international concern that the situation could spiral out of control.
UN Middle East peace envoy Tor Wennesland tweeted: "Stop the fire immediately. We're escalating towards a full-scale war. Leaders on all sides have to take the responsibility of de-escalation.
"The cost of war in Gaza is devastating & is being paid by ordinary people. UN is working w/ all sides to restore calm. Stop the violence now," he wrote.
Into the early hours of Wednesday morning, Gazans reported their homes shaking and the sky lighting up with Israeli attacks, outgoing rockets and Israeli air defence missiles intercepting them.
Diplomatic sources told AFP that Egypt and Qatar, who have mediated past Israeli-Hamas conflicts, were attempting to calm tensions.
Israeli aggression condemned
Last week, PM Khan strongly condemned the attacks led by Israeli forces on Palestinians at the Al-Aqsa mosque, in violation of "all norms of humanity and international law".
PM Imran Khan had said that Pakistan reiterates its support for Palestinians.
He had called upon the international community to take immediate action to protect Palestinians and their legitimate rights.
Earlier, President Arif Alvi had expressed regret that the "Israeli apartheid against Palestinians continues".
He further regretted that the atrocious attack on peaceful praying Muslims is characterised as "clashes".
"My brothers don't lose hope. Time is near when international politics will be based on morality and not on vested interests," he wrote, in a message of support for Palestinians.
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