JERUSALEM: A senior imam of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem said on Tuesday that Israeli authorities had barred him from entering the compound, just days before the start of the holy month of Ramadan.
“I have been barred from the mosque for a week, and the order can be renewed,” Sheikh Muhammad Al-Abbasi said.
He said he was not informed of the reason for the ban, which came into effect from Monday.
A Waqf source said 33 of its employees had been barred from entering the compound in the week leading up to Ramadan.
“I had only returned to Al-Aqsa a month ago after spending a year in the hospital following a serious car accident,” Abbasi said. “This ban is a grave matter for us, as our soul is tied to Al-Aqsa. Al-Aqsa is our life.”
