Occupied Quds – Saba:
Israeli occupation forces today, Friday, arrested the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian Territories, Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, from within the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Qud.
According to the Palestinian News Agency (WAFA), the Islamic Waqf Department reported that Israeli police arrested Sheikh Hussein immediately after he delivered the Friday sermon at Al-Aqsa Mosque, escorting him to the Moroccan Gate.
Local sources added that occupation forces stormed the mosque’s audio control room and detained Sheikh Hussein after he denounced, in his sermon, Israel’s starvation policy against the Palestinian people in Gaza.
The sources also noted that a special Israeli police unit simultaneously raided the office of the mosque’s Head of Security and the office of Al-Aqsa Mosque Director Sheikh Omar Al-Kiswani.
Thousands of worshippers performed Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa despite the heavy Israeli military restrictions. Local sources said Israeli forces obstructed the entry of worshippers at the Damascus Gate and Lion’s Gate, checked their IDs, and prevented several young men from entering the mosque.
Israeli forces continue to impose harsh restrictions on access to Al-Aqsa, particularly on Fridays. The occupation also prevents thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank from reaching Jerusalem to pray at the mosque, requiring them to obtain special permits to cross the military checkpoints encircling the holy city.