GAZA, August 6, 2025 (WAFA) – Israeli authorities issued a six-month ban on Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian Territories, banning him from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The Jerusalem Governorate, citing lawyer Khaldoun Najm, affirmed that the occupation decided to ban Sheikh Hussein from Al-Aqsa for six months, following the expiration of his eight-day ban.

This ban was imposed following his Friday sermon in which he denounced the occupation's starvation policy against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli forces had summoned Sheikh Hussein on July 27 and handed him an initial eight-day expulsion order from the mosque, with the possibility of renewal. 

The Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs condemned the Israeli decision.

It said in a statement on Wednesday that the ban of the Mufti is a clear attempt by the occupation to empty Al-Aqsa of religious authorities who confront its plans and demonstrate the extent and scope of its violations in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank in general, and Al-Aqsa Mosque in particular.

Y.S