Banning the Mufti of Jerusalem from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque for 6 months
The Israeli occupation authorities imposed a six-month ban on Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian Territories, preventing him from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque from July 10, 2026, to January 10, 2027.
Israeli police arrested Sheikh Hussein on July 10 in a room within the Al-Aqsa Mosque shortly after he completed delivering the Friday sermon and led the prayer. He was detained near the Islamic Museum on suspicion of "incitement."
The police told him that he was arrested because he mentioned martyrs and prisoners during the Friday sermon. Sheikh Hussein denied the charge, stating that praying for the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and asking for the martyrs and prisoners are religious and humanitarian acts, not incitement.
The decision to ban Sheikh Hussein from Al-Aqsa Mosque occurs amid increasing measures by the occupation authorities against religious figures, worshippers, and visitors. These actions include arrests, summonses, interrogations, and orders banning individuals from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Old City for various periods.
In recent months, the occupation authorities have kept issuing bans against worshippers and religious figures, limiting their access to Al-Aqsa Mosque and impacting their right to worship. This is happening amid a rise in restrictions on worshippers, alongside daily settler incursions into the mosque guarded by occupation police.
