ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Office on Friday condemned the “desecration” of Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli ministers and officials, warning that such provocations risk triggering a “catastrophic spiral of violence” in the region.
Israeli far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and officials, guarded by Israeli forces and accompanied by thousands of settlers, this month stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. Ben Gvir said he prayed at the site, in violation of 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 Israeli incursion saw assaults on Muslim worshippers, journalists and mosque guards, drawing widespread condemnation for the violation of the site’s sanctity.
“The presence and statement of senior Israeli officials and the repugnant declaration that the Temple Mount is ours are a dangerous and deliberate attempt to provoke religious sentiments across the world, escalate tensions and alter the status of Al-Aqsa Mosque,” Pakistani Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said at a weekly press briefing in Islamabad.
