ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and seven other Muslim-majority countries on Tuesday condemned Israel over restrictions on Muslim and Christian worship in Jerusalem, including limits on access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the barring of clergy from leading Palm Sunday prayers at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Jerusalem is sacred to all three Abrahamic religions and has been at the center of heightened tensions since Israel began its military campaign in Gaza in October 2023.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque is Islam’s third-holiest site, while the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is revered by Christians as the site of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion.
The latest restrictions coincided with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Christian observance of Palm Sunday, prompting the foreign ministers of Indonesia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Türkiye, Jordan and Egypt to issue a joint statement wherein they called Israel’s measures a violation of international law.
“The Foreign Ministers ... condemned, in the strongest terms, and reject the continued restrictions imposed by Israel on the freedom of worship for Muslims and Christians in occupied Jerusalem,” the statement said.
“These continued Israeli measures constitute a flagrant violation of international law, including international humanitarian law, as well as of the legal and historical status quo, and represent an infringement on the unrestricted right of access to places of worship,” it added.
The ministers affirmed their “absolute rejection of the illegal and restrictive Israeli measures against Muslims and Christians in Jerusalem, including preventing Christians from freely accessing the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to perform their religious rites.”
They also condemned the closure of Al-Aqsa’s gates for 30 consecutive days, including during Ramadan, warning that such measures risk further destabilizing the region.
The statement said Israel, as an occupying power, should immediately remove restrictions on worshippers and allow them access to religious sites.
It maintained that Al-Aqsa Mosque was an exclusive place of worship for Muslims, and it was within the jurisdiction of Jordan’s Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs to administer its affairs.
The ministers urged the international community to take a “firm position” to compel Israel to halt what they described as ongoing violations against Islamic and Christian holy places.
Several European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, voiced concern after the Palm Sunday Mass could not be held in Jerusalem.
