Israeli police clash with Palestinian worshippers on the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount as Muslims mark Eid al-Adha, in Jerusalem’s Old City August 11, 2019. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad.

After the UAE announced it would normalize relations with Israel:

The Mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian Territories, Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, announced today that it is forbidden for Emiratis to pray in the Al-Aqsa Mosque, according to a fatwa he issued in 2012 against anyone who … reconciles with Israel.

He told the German news agency (DPA) that he had issued a fatwa in 2012 “permitting visits to Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa within certain criteria, not including normalization.”

He added, “Since this (Emirati-Israeli) agreement bears the signs of normalization, so visiting Jerusalem is not allowed and forbidden.

A major Islamic scholar at Al Azhar rejected the ban:

A grand scholar at Al Azhar Al Sharif, Egypt’s renowned Islamic institution, has rejected a fatwa by Al Quds Mufti where he forbids the Emirati people from praying in Al-Aqsa Mosque following the UAE-Israeli peace accord.

“As a specialist in Islamic Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) I can’t find any religious justification for declaring as haram (forbidden) the worship of any Muslim people in any mosque all over the world based on a political stance taken by these people’s leadership. I reject any religious fatwa that is not based on Shari’a-compliant rules,” Dr Abbas Shuman, a member of Al Azhar’s Committee of Senior Scholars [said].

The Mufti is appointed by Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas, meaning that the PLO/PA are the ones banning Muslims from worshiping at Al-Aqsa. In fact, this isn’t the first time, according to reports from 2017:

Al-Aqsa guards expelled yesterday a Bahraini delegation from the mosque’s holy site, local sources reported.

The sources added that the move came as the Bahraini delegation was reported to have visited the Jewish state to “normalize and strengthen ties with Israel” and to deliver a “message of peace and brotherhood to Israel.”

Israel sometimes bans some Muslims from the site if they are a danger to public safety and security. The Palestinian leadership bans some Muslims from the site if they don’t like the politics of the country they are from.

This is one reason why the Arab world is sick and tired of the Palestinians — they claim ownership over a holy site and politicize it. They claim that they want Muslim and Arab unity, but they are willing to ostracize any Muslims they disagree with. The Palestinians are burning their bridges very quickly.

Elder of Ziyon has been blogging about Israel and the Arab world for a really long time now. He also controls the world, but deep down, you already knew that.