Targeting religious figures...Renewing the ban on the Mufti of Jerusalem from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque
On Sunday, the occupation authorities banned the Mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories, Sheikh Mohammad Hussein, from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque for a week, with the possibility of renewing the decision.
Sheikh Hussein explained that he was summoned to the Al-Maskoubiya police station in Jerusalem for a hearing, during which the investigator informed him that his recent sermon at Al-Aqsa Mosque "poses a danger to the public," according to the police, prompting the commander to issue the temporary ban.
He added, "I completely reject these allegations. We do not pose any danger to Al-Aqsa; rather, we are its people and part of its security."
Sheikh Mohammad Hussein refused to sign the statement (after the investigation ended).
Occupation forces had arrested Sheikh Mohammad Hussein on Friday from inside Al-Aqsa Mosque after storming the mosque's audio recording room while he was there.
The forces took the Mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories through the Dung Gate to the Al-Buraq Wall area, and from there to the al-Silsileh Gate interrogation center. They released him about an hour later, on the condition that he be banned from entering the mosque until Sunday, and that he appear for interrogation again on the same day.
These measures came after Sheikh Hussein delivered his Friday sermon at Al-Aqsa Mosque, in which he addressed the "starvation" policy imposed on Palestinians, saying they "are being deprived of food and water and are dying of hunger before the eyes of the world, a world that claims humanity and human rights, while reality reveals the falsity of these claims."
