Jerusalem: Israel's police arrested Sheikh Mohammad Sarandah, the Al-Aqsa Mosque's Khateeb (preacher), shortly after the weekly Friday prayers in congregations. Sheikh Sarandah was later released, but Israeli police barred him from entering the mosque for a week, the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf said.

According to Anadolu Agency, the Waqf stated that the ban is renewable but did not provide a reason for the arrest. No immediate comment was available from Israeli authorities concerning the arrest and the subsequent barring of Sheikh Sarandah.

Observers note that Israeli authorities generally restrict mosque preachers from speaking about the ongoing Israeli military offensive in Gaza, which began on Oct. 7, 2023. Since the start of the offensive, more than 65,100 Palestinians have been killed, most of them women and children, with hundreds of thousands displaced and famine claiming at least 440 lives, including 147 children.