Pakistan joins seven states in denouncing Al Aqsa incursion led by Ben Gvir

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and seven other Muslim-majority countries have issued a joint condemnation after Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir entered the Al Aqsa mosque compound with hundreds of Israeli Jews, an act the group described as part of a wider escalation at the site.

The statement, shared by Pakistan’s Foreign Office on Friday, was issued by the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Turkiye, Indonesia, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. It criticised what it called continued settler entries into the compound under Israeli protection, as well as other actions at the site, including the display of the Israeli flag in the courtyards and the installation of two tents by Israeli police.

The ministers said the developments at the Jerusalem holy site violated international law, relevant United Nations resolutions, and the longstanding historical and legal arrangements governing occupied East Jerusalem’s holy places.

These provocative and unacceptable actions constitute a flagrant violation of international law, the relevant United Nations resolutions, and the historical and legal status quo at the holy sites in occupied East Jerusalem.

The joint statement also condemned what it described as incitement, calls mobilising such incursions, and violence by Israeli extremist ministers and groups. It warned that these actions deepen hatred and extremism and hinder efforts toward what the ministers called a just and durable peace based on the two-state solution.

Under the status quo arrangement in place for decades between Israel and Jordan, the site is administered by a Jordanian religious foundation. Jews are allowed to visit, but not to pray there, while Muslim worship is meant to proceed without interruption.

The ministers said restrictions affecting access to Jerusalem’s Old City and its places of worship, along with what they called discriminatory and arbitrary limits on access to other worship sites, amounted to a breach of international law, including international humanitarian law, and an unlawful effort to change the historical and legal position of the holy places.

They further said Israel has no sovereignty over occupied Jerusalem or its Islamic and Christian sacred sites, and condemned what they described as ongoing and systematic measures aimed at changing the historical, legal and demographic character of occupied East Jerusalem.

The statement reaffirmed rejection of any attempt to alter the status quo in Jerusalem and its Islamic and Christian holy sites, while also recognising the special role of the historical Hashemite custodianship. The entire 144-dunam area of Al Aqsa Mosque is exclusively a Muslim place of worship and said the Jerusalem Endowments and Al Aqsa Mosque Affairs Department, which is linked to Jordan’s Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, is the sole legal authority responsible for administering the mosque and regulating entry.

The ministers called on Israel, as the occupying power, to remove restrictions on entry to the Old City without delay and not to obstruct Muslim worshippers from reaching the mosque. They also urged the international community to take a firm position to compel Israel to stop what they described as continuing violations and illegal practices against Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem.

Ben Gvir’s visit took place during Tisha B’Av, the Jewish fast marking the destruction of the First and Second Temples, observed this year from Wednesday night through Thursday. AFP footage showed Ben Gvir alongside hundreds of fellow worshippers at the compound, with Jewish settlers entering from the early morning and many praying at the site.

Since taking office, Ben Gvir has entered the site more than a dozen times and has previously used Tisha B’Av gatherings to advocate tougher action against Palestinians in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.