ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the recent “storming” of Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir on Monday, saying that such actions were a violation of international law and imperil the prospects for peace in the Middle East.
Ben-Gvir visited the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem on Sunday and said 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.
The move drew condemnations from Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia and Jordan, who both opposed Ben Gvir’s visit by saying that it was a violation of international law.
“Pakistan unequivocally condemns the recent act of storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli ministers, accompanied by settler groups and shielded by Israeli police,” Sharif wrote on social media platform X.
“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.”
