ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday condemned storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound by Israeli authorities under the protection of Israeli forces, its foreign office said, terming it a “reprehensible” move in violation of the sanctity of one of the holiest sites of Islam. 

Hundreds of Jewish pilgrims, including members of Israeli parliament, toured the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City. The site, called the Noble Sanctuary by Muslims, is the third holiest in Islam and also revered by Jews as the Temple Mount, a vestige of their faith’s two ancient temples. 

The visits passed without incident, but Palestinians have been angered by the rising number of Jewish visitors to the compound, some of whom defy a ban on non-Muslim prayer there. Jordan, which has a custodial role over the Muslim and Christian holy sites of Jerusalem, condemned the visits as a provocation that risked escalating tensions. 

The Pakistani foreign office said the visit by Israeli authorities was part of a series of recent Israeli actions that were disrespectful to Muslims around the world. 

“Pakistan strongly condemns storming of Al Aqsa Mosque by a member of the Israeli occupation authority and members of the Knesset under protection of Israeli occupation forces,” it said in a statement. 

“Violation of the sanctity of one of the holiest sites in Islam constitutes yet another reprehensible event in a series of escalatory Israeli actions disrespectful to religious sentiments of over 1.5 billion Muslims around the world.” 

The visit came as tens of thousands of Israeli nationalists marched through the Muslim quarter of Jerusalem’s walled Old City under heavy security in an annual event that drew condemnation from Palestinians. 

The parade is the main celebration on Jerusalem Day, when Israel marks its capture of Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war. The event has become a show of force for Jewish nationalists and, for Palestinians, a blatant provocation meant to undermine their ties to the city. 

Despite fears the event could spark a renewed violence following days of cross-border fire with Palestinian militant fighters in Gaza last week, the march ended with no major security incidents. 

Pakistan once again called on the international community to take immediate action to put an end to Israeli transgressions in the occupied Palestinian territories since the beginning of this year. 

“We reiterate that such acts are inconsistent with the right to freedom of expression and religion or belief of the Palestinian people, defying all humanitarian and human rights laws and norms,” the statement read. 

 “We reaffirm unstinted support for the Palestinian cause, and renew our call for a viable, independent and contiguous Palestinian State, with pre-1967 borders, and Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital being the only just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue.”