No surrender, no negotiations: Al Aqsa Mosque's longest-serving imam defies Israeli ban

In a climate of fear deepened by the Gaza war, an 86-year-old Muslim cleric has emerged as Israel's most outspoken critic in Jerusalem.

The longest-serving imam of Al Aqsa Mosque and the former mufti of Jerusalem, Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, has been banned from entering the sprawling compound in the Old City since last year.

The government also imposed a travel ban on him earlier this year after he spoke against it during a lecturing tour that included stops in Tunisia, Algeria, Turkey and Malaysia.

Also, this year, he had to leave his longtime home in Mount of Olives, one of East Jerusalem's oldest neighbourhoods, after authorities issued eviction orders for him and other tenants, because the building was "illegally built".

According to Palestinian media reports, the building was constructed without official permission, but the tenants were in the process of legalising the property when the eviction order was issued.

However, the eviction order left many Palestinians with the distinct impression that it was specifically meant to punish Sheikh Sabri for his criticism of Israel.

Speaking to The National at his new home - a first-floor apartment in Jerusalem's predominantly Arab neighbourhood of Beit Haneina - Sheikh Sabri appeared unfazed by the seemingly endless punitive measures taken against him over the years.

In the hour-long interview, his criticism of Israel was unrestrained. He expressed vigorous scepticism of Jewish claims to parts of the Al Aqsa site and delivered scathing condemnation of the incursions into the complex by members of Mr Netanyahu's government.

"We as Muslims have a right to the Al Aqsa that's granted by God from above in the seventh heaven," said Sheikh Sabri, who served as the mufti of Jerusalem between 1996 and 2006.

"There will be no surrender of or negotiating on Al Aqsa. Whatever actions taken by the Israeli occupation will not secure them any rights there."

In the 1967 Middle East war, Israel occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem, where the Old City and the Al Aqsa compound are located. Since then, the complex has been at the heart of the decades-long Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has stormed the site several times. Earlier this month, Waqf, the foundation that administers the complex, said he and more than 1,200 others prayed, shouted and danced at the site.

Random arrests

Under a delicate decades-old status quo arrangement between Israel and Muslim authorities, the Al Aqsa compound is administered by a Jordanian religious foundation, while Jews can visit but may not pray there.

In the 52 years since Sheikh Sabri delivered his first sermon at Al Aqsa Mosque, he has been barred from entering the complex or forbidden from delivering sermons there at least 15 times.

He said bans on Al Aqsa imams from delivering sermons are routinely issued in response to what authorities claim is incitement against the occupying authorities or their policies. More recently, mentioning the Gaza war or the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave has led to a series of suspensions.

Earlier this month, the current Mufti of Jerusalem, Sheikh Mohammed Hussein, was banned by Israeli authorities from the Al Aqsa compound for six months after he mentioned the humanitarian crisis in Gaza in a sermon.

There have been so many suspensions of Al Aqsa imams by Israeli authorities in recent months that there are now at least five designated imams for the mosque at any given time, said Sheikh Sabri, whose father also served as imam there. One of his sons was recently appointed as one of All Aqsa's imams.

Sporting silver-white hair and a light beard, Sheikh Sabri decried what he said were security measures imposed by Israeli authorities since the Gaza war began on October 7, 2023, after a Hamas-led attack on southern Israeli communities that left about 1,200 dead.

He quoted what he called a "siege" of Jerusalem and the suspension of permits allowing Palestinians from the occupied West Bank to enter the city.

"There were random arrests of youths without crime or justification. Later, the frequency of Jews storming Al Aqsa grew, and police began to randomly stop people from entering the compound," explained Sheikh Sabri, who studied in Baghdad and at Cairo's Al Azhar Mosque.

"Any imam who mentions Gaza is detained and barred from entering the Al Aqsa," said Sheikh Sabri, a father of five and grandfather to 18 grandchildren. "To prevent anyone from entering his place of worship is a disciplinary measure that may not be found anywhere else in the world."