By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday denounced in the strongest terms the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem by Israeli settlers and the raising of Israel’s flag in its courtyard, describing the actions as “reprehensible” and a serious threat to regional stability.
In a statement issued by the Foreign Office, Islamabad said the incidents represented “a blatant violation of international law, as well as of the sanctity and inviolability of the holy site.” It warned that “such provocative steps also risk further escalating tensions in the region.”
The statement identified the intruders as “illegal Israeli settlers” who forced their way into the compound through the Mughrabi Gate under heavy police protection, according to a reporter for the Turkish news agency Anadolu who was on the scene. Videos circulating on social media showed the settlers performing Talmudic rituals and prayers aloud — including what is known as “epic prostration” — particularly in the eastern section of the compound. Photographs posted online depicted two settlers raising the Israeli flag inside the courtyard, with the golden Dome of the Rock visible in the background.
Pakistan called on the international community to take “all possible measures to protect holy sites under Israeli occupation and to end the impunity of illegal settlers operating under its patronage.” The Foreign Office reiterated Pakistan’s “unwavering support for their right to worship” and its longstanding position that the Palestinian people should be allowed to establish “an independent, viable, and contiguous State of Palestine based on the pre-1967 borders, with Al Quds Al Sharif as its capital.”
The Al-Aqsa Mosque, situated within the Haram al-Sharif compound in the Old City of East Jerusalem, is the third-holiest site in Islam and draws thousands of Muslim worshippers daily. For Jews, the same plateau is known as the Temple Mount, the location of two ancient Jewish temples. Under a decades-old arrangement sometimes called the status quo, the Muslim religious authority known as the Islamic Waqf, administered by Jordan, oversees religious affairs at the mosque, while Israeli authorities maintain overall security and control access to the Old City.
Tensions at the site have long been a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Restrictions on Palestinian access often tighten during major Muslim holidays such as Ramadan, when large crowds seek to pray at the mosque. Such measures have repeatedly sparked protests in Jerusalem and across the region.
Tuesday’s condemnation followed two recent visits to the compound by Israel’s far-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir. On April 6, Ben-Gvir stormed the site, touring the courtyards after entering through the Mughrabi Gate and exiting via the Chain Gate, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, which quoted the Islamic Waqf Department in Jerusalem. The visit took place amid a heavy deployment of Israeli police. The Waqf said Ben-Gvir has entered the compound approximately 14 times since assuming his position in 2023 as part of what it described as an escalating policy toward the mosque. He returned on April 13 under similar heavy security.
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