Press Release: Veritas Press C.I.C.
Author: Kamran Faqir
Article Date Published: 25 July 2025 at 18:47 GMT
Category: Middle East | Palestine-Gaza | US-Israel At War
Source(s): Veritas Press C.I.C. | Multi News Agencies
Restrictions on Palestinian worship escalate as Sheikh Muhammad Hussein is detained and banned from Al-Aqsa.
Today marked yet another escalation in its campaign against Palestinian religious and civic life, as Israeli occupation forces stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem on Friday, arresting Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian Territories, shortly after he delivered a Friday sermon denouncing Israel’s starvation policies in the besieged Gaza Strip.
According to the Islamic Endowments Department (Waqf), Sheikh Hussein was taken into custody from within the Al-Aqsa compound near the Mughrabi Gate moments after he concluded the sermon, in which he condemned the “genocidal war” Israel has waged against the Palestinian people from Rafah to Jenin. The sermon also highlighted the deliberate use of starvation as a weapon of war, a policy the United Nations and multiple humanitarian organisations have said amounts to war crimes or genocide.
Local media, including the official Palestinian News Agency WAFA, reported that Israeli forces stormed the mosque’s audio control room and forcibly arrested Sheikh Hussein in the courtyard, alongside a sweeping raid targeting other senior religious officials. A special unit simultaneously raided the office of Sheikh Omar Al-Kiswani, director of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the room of the mosque guards’ chief. The nature of the searches and whether anything was confiscated remains unclear.
Following hours of interrogation, Israeli authorities released Sheikh Hussein but barred him from entering Al-Aqsa until Sunday. The Palestinian Commission for Detainees Affairs confirmed that the sheikh has also been summoned for further interrogation over the weekend. No formal charges were made public.
This marks the latest in a growing pattern of Israeli police targeting Al-Aqsa’s religious leaders for sermons or public statements critical of Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza. In April, Sheikh Muhammad Salim was arrested and banned from the mosque for a week after mentioning the war in his sermon. Former Grand Mufti Sheikh Ikrima Sabri has also faced repeated detentions, interrogations, and long-term bans from the mosque over the past decade.
Worshippers Restricted, Youth Detained:
The arrest took place amid a broader crackdown by Israeli forces around the mosque and across East Jerusalem. Thousands of Palestinian worshippers faced severe restrictions in accessing Al-Aqsa on Friday, with Israeli forces blocking entry through key gates, including Damascus Gate and Lions’ Gate, inspecting identity documents, detaining young men, and turning away scores of worshippers, particularly those from the occupied West Bank.
WAFA reported multiple arrests of Palestinian youths who attempted to enter the compound or protested the restrictions. These repressive measures, witnesses said, are becoming routine every Friday since the start of the Gaza assault in October 2023.
“Every week, we face humiliation just to pray,” said Ahmad Khalil, a 27-year-old Jerusalemite turned away at Lions’ Gate. “Now even the religious leaders are not safe. They want to silence every voice that speaks of Gaza, of hunger, of truth.”
Crackdown Tied To Broader Assault On Palestinian Institutions:
The raid on Al-Aqsa and arrest of its religious leader come amid intensifying Israeli violence across the occupied Palestinian territories. Since October 7, Israeli forces and armed settlers have killed over 1,006 Palestinians in the West Bank alone, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. East Jerusalem has also witnessed a surge in home raids, arrests, and closures of Palestinian civil and religious institutions.
Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam, has become a flashpoint in this broader campaign. Israeli far-right ministers and settler groups have repeatedly called for increased Jewish prayer rights at the site, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, stoking fears of an eventual takeover or division of the compound. The mosque has long been under the custodianship of the Jordanian-funded Islamic Waqf, which is increasingly undermined by unilateral Israeli police action.
Israel’s 1980 annexation of East Jerusalem, including the Old City, remains illegal under international law and is not recognised by the United Nations or most of the international community.
Condemnations And Silence:
While Palestinian officials have condemned the arrest of the Grand Mufti as a flagrant violation of religious freedom and international law, international reaction remained muted at the time of writing.
“This arrest is not only an attack on Sheikh Hussein, it is an assault on Al-Aqsa Mosque, the rights of worshippers, and the dignity of all Palestinians,” said Hatem Abdel Qader, a former Jerusalem Affairs Minister. “It is part of the same genocidal campaign being waged in Gaza, this time with batons instead of bombs.”
Human rights groups warn that Israel’s increasing interference in Palestinian religious institutions is part of a calculated effort to suppress all forms of Palestinian political and cultural expression, especially voices that denounce the siege and destruction in Gaza, where more than 100,000 Palestinians have been killed and starvation is widespread, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and UN reports.
A Broader War On Palestinian Identity:
Analysts say the targeting of Al-Aqsa preachers reflects a broader Israeli strategy to fracture Palestinian resistance and erase national identity through cultural and religious domination.
“Israel is using its control over Jerusalem not just to dominate territory, but to control narrative, worship, and memory,” said Yara Hawari, a senior policy analyst at Al-Shabaka, the Palestinian Policy Network. “The silencing of religious leaders, the storming of sacred sites, these are tactics of colonial subjugation.”
Meanwhile, Gaza remains under almost complete blockade, with aid deliveries restricted and much of the population facing famine. Israeli forces continue to bomb, raid, and demolish areas designated as “safe zones,” including displacement camps and UN shelters, while arresting hundreds during military operations across Rafah, Gaza City, and central areas.
As Israeli authorities silence preachers in Jerusalem and bomb civilians in Gaza, Palestinians see a single, interconnected policy of extermination and erasure, religious, national, and physical.
Related Developments:
- July 25, 2025: UN human rights experts warned of “systematic persecution” of Palestinian religious leaders in Jerusalem, calling for international protection of holy sites.
- July 22, 2025: At least 23 Palestinians were killed in Israeli raids in Jenin and Nablus, including three children. Homes and infrastructure were destroyed.
- July 20, 2025: The World Food Programme said 90% of Gaza’s population is facing “catastrophic hunger” and accused Israel of obstructing aid delivery.
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