Pakistan on Monday unequivocally condemned the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem by Israeli ministers, calling Tel Aviv out for its “shameless actions which are inflaming tensions in Palestine and the wider region”.
Early on Sunday, Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, shielded by Israeli police, led a large group of illegal settlers in a provocative march and mass incursion into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, coinciding with the Jewish commemoration of Tisha B’Av, Anadolu Agency reported.
According to the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, at least 1,251 illegal Israeli settlers stormed the mosque compound in the morning hours, performing Talmudic rituals, singing, and dancing under heavy police protection.
Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in Islam after Makkah and Madina. Under a decades-old “status quo” arrangement, the compound is administered by a Jordanian religious foundation. Jews can visit the site but are prohibited from praying there.
“This sacrilege against one of Islam’s holiest sites is not only an affront to the faith of over a billion Muslims but also a direct assault on international law and the collective conscience of humanity,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif posted on X.
He warned that such systematic provocations by the occupying power, coupled with reckless calls for annexation, endanger regional stability and imperil the prospects for peace.
“Israel’s shameless actions are deliberately inflaming tensions in Palestine and the wider region, pushing the Middle East closer to further instability and conflict,” he added.
Pakistan called for an immediate ceasefire, an end to acts of aggression, and a revival of a credible peace process aimed at establishing an independent and viable Palestinian state with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
The Foreign Office also issued a statement strongly condemning the storming of the mosque.
“The presence and statements of senior Israeli officials, and the repugnant declaration that ‘the Temple Mount is ours,’ are a dangerous and deliberate attempt to provoke religious sentiments across the world, escalate tensions, and alter the status of Al‑Aqsa Mosque,” it said.
The FO described the actions as part of Israel’s expansionist agenda, which aims to destabilise the region and sabotage peace efforts. “These provocations risk igniting a catastrophic spiral of violence across the region,” it warned.
The statement urged the international community, particularly the United Nations, to take immediate and concrete steps to hold Israel accountable and protect the religious sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the rights of the Palestinian people.
“Such actions are a blatant violation of international human rights and humanitarian laws, the UN Charter, and numerous UN and OIC resolutions,” it said.
Pakistan reaffirmed its longstanding support for a sovereign, independent Palestinian state along the pre-June 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem (Al-Quds Al-Sharif) as its capital.
Since October 7, 2023, Israeli strikes on Gaza have killed over 60,800 Palestinians and injured nearly 149,000, according to Gaza’s health ministry. The Gaza Media Office reports that nearly 88 per cent of the Gaza Strip has been destroyed in Israeli bombardments.
Pakistan has consistently advocated for the people of Palestine, calling for an immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire.
Last month, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar told a high-level UN conference in New York that the Israel-Palestine issue was a “test case” for global institutions, urging the UN Security Council not to remain a “bystander” to the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.