ISLAMABAD: Pakistan condemned the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli forces and extremist settlers on Friday, urging the world to come up with a plan of action that could bring an end to “repeated transgressions” against the sanctity of the holy sites in Jerusalem.
Earlier this week on Tuesday, Israeli nationals, led by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, stormed the mosque in occupied East Jerusalem under police protection.
Al-Aqsa Mosque holds significant religious importance for Muslims across the world and is considered the third holiest site in Islam, after the Grand Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah.
“Pakistan strongly condemns the illegal storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque by hundreds of extremist settlers led by office bearers of the Israeli occupation authorities,” foreign office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said while addressing her weekly media briefing.
“Pakistan calls on the international community, especially the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), to take immediate action to end these serious and repeated transgressions against the sanctity of holy sites in Jerusalem,” she added.
Baloch highlighted that the desecration of one of Islam’s holiest sites and obstruction of the rights of worshippers had deeply hurt Muslim sentiments. She described the Israeli acts as a violation of the Geneva Conventions and a blatant disregard of multiple UNSC resolutions focusing on the city of Jerusalem.
Calling for an end to the killing of Palestinians in Gaza, she said Israel should be held accountable for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
“Yesterday, marked a tragic milestone in the ongoing war on the people of Gaza,” she continued. “Israeli occupation forces have massacred 40,000 people, majority of them women and children.”
She said Pakistan shared the concerns of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) about the peril posed by Israel’s policies that aimed at altering the Arab and Islamic characters of Jerusalem.
The foreign office called for the protection of the Islamic character of Al-Aqsa and to ensure the freedom of worship for the Palestinians.
