Pakistan, Saudi Arabia condemn Israeli govt officials’ provocative actions against Al-Aqsa Mosque

The governments of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Jordan have condemned the Israeli government officials’ provocative actions against Al-Aqsa Mosque, after Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem on Sunday.

After visiting the site, the Israeli minister pronounced that he prayed there, challenging rules covering one of the most sensitive sites in the Middle East.

Under a delicate decades-old “status quo” arrangement with Muslim authorities, the Al-Aqsa compound is administered by a Jordanian religious foundation and Jews can visit but may not pray there.

Videos released by a small Jewish organisation called the Temple Mount Administration showed Ben-Gvir leading a group walking in the compound. Other videos circulating online appeared to show him praying. Reuters could not immediately verify the content of the other videos.

The Waqf, the foundation that administers the complex on a hillside in Jerusalem’s walled Old City, said Ben-Gvir was among another 1,250 who ascended the site and who it said prayed, shouted and danced.

Israeli minister sparks outcry with visit to Al-Aqsa Mosque compound

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned “storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli ministers, accompanied by settler groups and shielded by Israeli police”.

In a post on X, PM Shehbaz said the sacrilege against one of Islam’s holiest sites is not only an affront to Muslims worldwide but also a direct assault on international law and the collective conscience of humanity.

“Such systematic provocations by the occupying power, coupled with reckless calls for annexation, imperils 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.”

The premier said Pakistan reiterates its urgent call for an immediate ceasefire, an end to all acts of aggression, and the revival of a credible peace process leading to an independent and viable State of Palestine, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital, in accordance with international law and relevant UN resolutions.

Furthermore, the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed “strong condemnation” from the kingdom over the repeated provocative actions by Israeli occupation government officials against Al-Aqsa Mosque, warning that “such practices fuel the conflict in the region”.

The kingdom reiterated its urgent call on the international community to intervene and halt these violations of international laws and conventions by the Israeli occupation authorities, which undermine efforts to achieve peace and stability in the region, the Saudi Press Agency said.

In a statement, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry condemned Wednesday’s visit as a “storming” and “an unacceptable provocation”, AFP reported.

Jordan is the custodian of the site, which is Islam’s third-holiest and a symbol of Palestinian national identity.

Known to Jews as the Temple Mount, it is also Judaism’s holiest place, revered as the site of the second temple destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.

Under the status quo maintained by Israel, which has occupied east Jerusalem and its Old City since 1967, Jews and other non-Muslims are allowed to visit the compound during specified hours, but they are not permitted to pray there or display religious symbols.

Hamas called Ben-Gvir’s action a “provocative and dangerous escalation”, saying the visit was “part of the ongoing genocide against our Palestinian people”.

“We call on our Palestinian people and our youth in the West Bank to escalate their confrontation… in defence of our land and our sanctities, foremost among them the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque,” it said in a statement.