The governments of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Jordan have condemned the Israeli government officials’ provocative actions against Al-Aqsa Mosque, after Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem on Sunday.
After visiting the site, the Israeli minister pronounced that 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.
Videos released by a small Jewish organisation called the Temple Mount Administration showed Ben-Gvir leading a group walking in the compound. Other videos circulating online appeared to show him praying. Reuters could not immediately verify the content of the other videos.
The Waqf, the foundation that administers the complex on a hillside in Jerusalem’s walled Old City, said Ben-Gvir was among another 1,250 who ascended the site and who it said prayed, shouted and danced.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned “storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli ministers, accompanied by settler groups and shielded by Israeli police”.
In a post on X, PM Shehbaz said the sacrilege against one of Islam’s holiest sites is not only an affront to Muslims worldwide but also a direct assault on international law and the collective conscience of humanity.
Separately, Alkhidmat Foundation Pakistan on Monday dispatched its 28th humanitarian consignment to Gaza, carrying 100 tons of essential food and medical supplies, in a continued show of solidarity with the Palestinian people. The aid is part of the foundation’s ongoing relief efforts for the war-affected population in the besieged enclave.
The consignment, arranged in coordination with the Government of Pakistan and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), was flown from Islamabad via a special aircraft to Amman, Jordan, from where it will be transported to Gaza for distribution among displaced families.