Muhammad Ahmad Hussein, the grand mufti of Jerusalem, will be prevented from entering the holy site in the Israeli-annexed Old City until January 2026, according to lawyer Khaldoun Najem.
Najem said Israeli police “did not interrogate” or hold a hearing for the mufti prior to their decision.
Hussein’s lawyer said that the ban was due to a Friday sermon the mufti gave at Al-Aqsa, Islam’s third-holiest site and a Palestinian national symbol, in late July, “which contained nothing inappropriate”.
Palestinian news agency Wafa said the sermon had focused on deteriorating conditions in Gaza and growing starvation in the territory, where Israel’s nearly two-year war against Hamas has led to a dire humanitarian crisis.
Israel occupied and annexed east Jerusalem and including the Old City, in 1967. Much of the international community does not recognize Israel’s annexation of the area.
