The incident is the latest example of a pattern of restrictions imposed by Israeli authorities in the occupied territory since the beginning of the Gaza genocide.
Written by: Daniel Khalili-Tari
Israel has banned the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and Palestine from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound for a week.
The Jerusalem governorate said in a Facebook post that Israeli forces had detained Sheikh Muhammad Hussein after he delivered his Friday sermon at the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The governorate later confirmed that Hussein had been released, but Israeli authorities had temporarily banned him from Islam's third holiest site in occupied East Jerusalem for a week, with the possibility of extending the ban.
According to Quds News Network, Hussein was arrested due to the content of his sermon, in which he prayed for mercy for Palestinians killed by Israel and asked for relief for those detained in Israeli prisons.
In a message to Al Jazeera, the Jerusalem governorate said: "The detention was carried out to hand him [Hussein] a decision banning him from Al-Aqsa Mosque for a week, with the possibility of extension. This is not the first time such a measure has been applied to him."„
Israel has not commented on Hussein's brief detention or ban.
The incident is the latest example of a pattern of measures gradually introduced by Israeli authorities in the occupied Palestinian territory since the start of the Gaza genocide in October 2023.
Since then, more than 1,100 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank, including at least 243 children, as rights groups say military raids, settler violence and the expansion of Israeli control have intensified.
On Friday, six Palestinians, including children, were reportedly injured in a settler attack in Huwara, near Nablus. Local sources said settlers attacked a Palestinian family, including an elderly man, using pepper spray and physically abusing them.
The attack took place on land owned by the family. Israeli forces were reportedly present and were protecting the settlers during the attack. Israeli forces then reportedly attacked the residents and arrested three members of the family, including 80-year-old Ibrahim Ismail al-Jabour.
The incident comes amid growing international concern over the violence in the occupied West Bank. Last month, Amnesty International published a report accusing the Israeli government of carrying out a campaign of ethnic cleansing in the territory. The report concluded that the campaign was state-directed and not the result of individual actions by rebellious settlers or far-right ministers.
