Al-Azhar warns Mufti arrest 'fuels fire'

Dr Ahmed al-Tayeb, Sheikh of Egypt's al-Azhar Mosque, has condemned the arrest of Muhammed Hussein, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories, after Israeli forces raided the cleric's home in Jerusalem on Wednesday. For two consecutive days, Israeli special units have prevented Muslim students and worshippers under the age of 50 from entering the al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam adjacent to the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. Some worshipers’ identification cards have been detained. Sheikh al-Azhar asserted that Israeli actions would “fuel the fire of enmity and conflict in the region and push it towards more crises, which could impede the peace process with dire consequences.” Al-Tayeb entreated Arab and Muslim leaders, as well as the United Nations and international human rights organisations, to intervene and bring an end to Israeli provocations.