Israel Detains Grand Mufti of Palestine, Bars Him From al-Aqsa
Sheikh Muhammad Hussein was held after his Friday sermon and banned from the mosque compound for a week, in the latest move against Palestinian religious figures
Israeli forces have detained the Grand Mufti of Palestine, Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, and barred him from entering the al-Aqsa Mosque compound for one week — the latest in a series of measures targeting Palestinian religious leaders.
Hussein was arrested on Friday shortly after delivering his sermon at al-Aqsa, then released with an order banning him from the compound for a week, a restriction that Israeli authorities said could be renewed. The Israeli side acknowledged that the measure was not the first imposed on him, describing it as part of a repeated pattern of restrictions against the mufti.
According to Palestinian media, Hussein was detained over the content of his sermon, in which he had prayed for Palestinians killed by Israel and for the release of those held in Israeli jails.
The move followed a similar episode earlier this month, when Israeli authorities questioned and restricted Sheikh Ekrima Sabri — the longtime al-Aqsa preacher and former Grand Mufti of al-Quds — extending years of repeated interrogations and entry bans against him.
Tightening grip on al-Aqsa
The measures come amid intensifying Israeli restrictions on Palestinian religious sites. The Palestinian Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs said Israeli forces carried out 26 incursions into the al-Aqsa compound during June, and that 4,212 Israeli settlers entered the site through the Mughrabi Gate under military protection over the same month.
In the occupied West Bank, more than 1,100 Palestinians — including at least 243 children — have been killed during the period of Israel’s assault on Gaza, according to Palestinian officials and rights groups, amid intensified military raids, settler violence, and expanding Israeli control. In June, Amnesty International concluded that Palestinians in the West Bank were being subjected to a campaign of ethnic cleansing rather than isolated acts by individual settlers or officials.
The detention also unfolds against the backdrop of Israel’s war on Gaza, which Palestinian authorities say has killed some 73,000 people and wounded more than 172,000 others.