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Jerusalem, Grand Mufti Mohammad Hussein arrested after Friday sermon

Israeli forces picked him up inside the Al-Aqsa mosque complex. Waqf complaint: ‘Punished for condemning the policy of starvation in Gaza’

JERUSALEM – Israeli forces arrested the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and Palestine, Mohammad Hussein, today, Friday 25 July, at the end of Friday prayers in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. This was reported by the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, citing sources from the Islamic Waqf Department.

Sheikh Hussein was detained shortly after delivering his weekly sermon and taken from the mosque courtyards before being escorted to the Moroccan Gate, one of the western entrances to the religious complex.

According to local sources, the arrest took place after the cleric condemned Israeli policy towards the Palestinian population in Gaza, speaking openly about “the use of hunger as a weapon”. The same sources report that Israeli special police units simultaneously raided the mosque’s audio control room, as well as the offices of the chief guard and the mosque director.

At present, there is no official confirmation from the Israeli authorities regarding the reasons for the arrest. The move has already sparked strong reactions in the Arab world, fuelling new tensions in an area that has been at the centre of clashes and protests for months.

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