Shafaqna Pakistan: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday urged Arab and Islamic countries to demonstrate unity and resolve in jointly advocating for the protection of Al-Aqsa Mosque amid ongoing Israeli incursions.
Dar is visiting Jordan to attend a ministerial meeting on the deteriorating situation in Jerusalem and the West Bank. During the visit, he has been holding bilateral meetings with regional counterparts while participating in discussions on developments in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the wider regional situation.
Addressing the ministerial meeting, Dar said the ceasefire and US President Donald Trump’s “comprehensive plan” had created an opportunity to ease humanitarian suffering and advance a credible path toward Palestinian self-determination and statehood. However, he stressed that the current circumstances demand a collective commitment to safeguard the opportunity for lasting peace.
In light of this, he said, Arab and Islamic countries “must act with unity, resolve and collective action.” Dar called on nations to reaffirm the protection of Jerusalem and its holy sites, “by demanding an immediate cessation of all violations against Al-Aqsa mosque, preservation of the historical and legal status quo, and unrestricted access to Jerusalem and the holy sites.”
Beyond this call to action, the foreign minister added three others. The second, he said, was to “reject all illegal Israeli settlement activities, annexation attempts, forced displacement and demographic changes in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, in accordance with international law and relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions, including Resolution 2334.”
The third, Dar said, was to support of the “full and faithful implementation of the Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza conflict and security council resolution 2803.”
Noting that Pakistan welcomed developments under the Board of Peace “towards implementation of the process of disarmament under the Gaza peace plan” and appreciated the efforts of mediating countries including the US, Egypt, Qatar, and Turkiye, he stated, “we hope that with these developments, concrete steps will be taken towards implementing all commitments under the Gaza peace plan.”
Further, Dar stated that the fourth call was for Arab and Islamic states to strengthen diplomatic efforts “to ensure international protection for the Palestinian people, hold accountable those responsible for crimes and violations committed against civilians, and advance a political solution based on justice, lasting peace, and international legitimacy.”
The foreign minister also noted deep concern over “the continued expansion of illegal settlements, the establishment of new settlement outposts, escalating settler violence, and the continued oppression of the Palestinian people,” particularly in the West Bank.
These policies, Dar said, “violate international humanitarian law, defy the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, and further entrench an unlawful occupation.”
“Impunity for these grave violations has emboldened the occupying power to persist with policies that undermine the viability of a Palestinian state, and threaten regional peace and security,” Dar stated.
Noting that the “humanitarian situation in Gaza is extremely fragile,” the foreign minister noted that the ceasefire and “the implementation of elements of the peace plan have yielded some improvements.”
However, he stated that 59 per cent of the population still faces crisis-level food insecurity, 1,100 Palestinians have been killed, and nearly two million remain confined to just 30 per cent of Gazan territory, “enduring miserable conditions.”
This, Dar said, “calls into question the full and faithful implementation of the plan.”
Earlier in his address, the foreign minister stated that the ministerial meeting convened “with a shared sense of urgency” as illegal Israeli actions “continue to threaten the sanctity and historic character of the holy sites, undermine international law, disregard relevant UN Security Council resolutions, and further erode prospect for a just, comprehensive, and lasting peace.”
Dar expressed Pakistan’s condemnation “in the strongest possible terms,” continued Israeli incursions into Al-Aqsa mosque by “extremist Israeli settlers, encouraged by senior Israeli ministers, and carried out under the protection of the occupying forces.”
He added that by “deliberately undermining the religious and historical status of Jersulalem, Israel is provoking the sentiments of billions of Muslims around the globe.”
“This appears to be an attempt to not only undermine regional peace and stability but also to drag the followers of various religions into a wider conflict,” Dar said. He added, “We cannot and must not allow that.”
“Let there be no ambiguity,” the foreign minister said, adding that “Israel has no sovereignity over occupied East Jerusalem or its Islamic and Christian holy sites.” All measures seeking to alter their character or status are null and void and without legal effect, Dar noted.
He reaffirmed the Palestinian people’s “inalineable right to self-determination and their right to establish an independent, sovereign, viable and contiguous state of Palestine, based on pre-June 1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.”
“A just, comprehensive and lasting peace can only be achieved through respect for international law and realisation of the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people,” Dar said.
Arab, Muslim ministers agree on mechanism to document Israeli violations in Jerusalem
Arab and Muslim foreign ministers agreed to establish a permanent mechanism to document and expose Israeli violations in Jerusalem and at its Islamic and Christian holy sites, according to a joint declaration adopted after the ministerial meeting.
The declaration, issued after the meeting, said the mechanism would include a media platform to document Israeli violations against holy sites and worshippers and bring them to the attention of international organizations and the global public.
The participants, including members of the Arab Ministerial Committee on Jerusalem and representatives of Turkiye, Pakistan, Indonesia and Malaysia, also called for immediate international action to halt Israeli measures in Jerusalem and at its holy sites.
The declaration condemned Israeli policies and measures aimed at altering Jerusalem’s Arab, Islamic and Christian identity, as well as its legal and demographic status, describing them as null and void and a violation of international law. It reaffirmed that East Jerusalem is part of the occupied Palestinian territory and that Israel has no sovereignty over it.
The declaration reiterated that East Jerusalem is the capital of the State of Palestine and said establishing a Palestinian state along the June 4, 1967, borders, living alongside Israel under a two-state solution, remains the only path to a just, lasting and comprehensive peace.
The ministers also condemned Israeli violations at Al-Aqsa Mosque, including attempts to alter its historical and legal status quo and impose temporal and spatial divisions.
They also denounced increased incursions by extremist settlers and Israeli officials, restrictions on worshippers, interference in the work of the Jerusalem Awqaf and Al-Aqsa Mosque Affairs Department, and continued excavations beneath and around the site.
The declaration reaffirmed that the entire 144-dunam (35.6-acre) Al-Aqsa Mosque, Al-Haram Al-Sharif compound is a place of worship exclusively for Muslims.
It said the Jerusalem Awqaf and Al-Aqsa Mosque Affairs Department, affiliated with Jordan’s Ministry of Awqaf, Islamic Affairs and Holy Sites, is the sole legal authority with exclusive jurisdiction to administer the compound.
The participants also condemned Israeli violations targeting Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, including restrictions on access to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, interference in church affairs, restrictions targeting church institutions and properties, and attacks on clergy, worshippers and religious symbols.
The ministers reaffirmed their support for Jordan’s Hashemite Custodianship over the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem and pledged to continue supporting the resilience of Palestinians in the city.
They warned that Israeli attacks against Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem could inflame the sentiments of around two billion Muslims worldwide and fuel a religious conflict with repercussions extending beyond the region, threatening regional and international peace and security.
The declaration also rejected unilateral decisions affecting Jerusalem’s legal status, including the establishment or relocation of diplomatic missions to the city.
It called for a joint ministerial meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the League of Arab States during the UN General Assembly’s high-level week in New York in September to discuss developments in Jerusalem and at its holy sites.
Source: Express Tribune
