Palestinian Islamic leader issues fatwa calling for Eid prayers outside Al-Aqsa Mosque Submitted by Lubna Masarwa on Tue, 03/17/2026 - 13:02 Ekrima Sa'id Sabri issues religious edict after Israel forces closure of Al-Aqsa during Ramadan An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man prays in front of the closed Western Wall overlooking the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in the Old city of Jerusalem on 13 March 2026 (Olympia De Maismont/AFP) Off A leading Palestinian Islamic cleric has issued a fatwa calling for Eid prayers outside Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, after access to the site was blocked by the Israelis. Ekrima Sa'id Sabri, a preacher at the mosque and a member of the Islamic Waqf Department, said all Muslims should attend the Friday event and pray at the nearest possible location to the site, considered one of the holiest in Islam. “It has become clear to everyone that the closure of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque since the beginning of the war on Iran carries Israeli political goals and agendas, related to an attempt to exploit this major regional event in order to push Judaisation plans on the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque,” said Khaled Zabarqa, Sabri’s lawyer, speaking to Middle East Eye. “Therefore, the Israeli occupation’s pretext that it closed Al-Aqsa for security reasons to protect people’s lives is a false and fabricated excuse and an attempt to mislead public opinion.” Al-Aqsa Mosque, which Jews regard as the Temple Mount and the most sacred place in Judaism, has long been a flashpoint site in occupied East Jerusalem. While the official position of the Chief Rabbinate has long been that Jews may not enter the site until it is religiously ordained, some Jewish groups have demanded access to Al-Aqsa Mosque for prayers and even the construction of the Third Temple there. Many Palestinians fear that restrictions on Muslim access to the site are a precursor to increasing Jewish worship and even demolishing the mosque in part or completely. Middle East Eye repo