Israel bans former mufti from al-Aqsa

Israeli authorities on Wednesday banned the former grand Mufti of Jerusalem entry into the Haram al-Sharif compound, official news agency Wafa reported. Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, who was appointed Mufti of Jerusalem and Palestine by late Palestinian president Yasser Arafat, said the decision was "arbitrary and illegal," and challenges the jurisdiction of the Islamic Wafq. The decision to issue an order banning Sabri is a result of pressure from Jewish groups, Sabri claimed. Israeli authorities issued the ban under the pretext that the Mufti's sermons are inciteful, Wafa reported. Sabri has been banned from entering the holy site multiple times in the past, with Israel enacting emergency laws to ban the Islamic leader for six-month periods. In 2011, Israel's deputy foreign minister issued a travel ban on Sabri which prevented him from leaving the country for six months. The compound, containing the Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, is the third holiest site in Islam. Jews believe the ancient Second Temple stood on the same spot. The flashpoint site is under the custody of the Islamic endowment authorities. Israel annexed East Jerusalem after a 1967 war in a move that has not been internationally recognised.