Israel bans top Palestinian Waqf officials from Al Aqsa
2019-03-04 09:41:02 source：The Aljazeera
March 4, 2019
Police in Israel have extended bans on top Palestinian officials who oversee Jerusalem's Al Aqsa compound from entering the holy site, in a move analysts warned could further escalate tensions.
The decision on Sunday came weeks after the Islamic Waqf Council, a religious body appointed by Jordan to oversee the Al Aqsa compound, defied a 16-year Israeli ban on the Bab al-Rahma building within the site and reopened it to Muslim worshippers.
Following the council's decision on February 14, its head Sheikh Abdel Azeem Salhab and his deputy, Sheikh Najeh Bkerat, were briefly detained and hit with a one-week ban. Israeli police extended the bans on Sunday by 40 days for Salhab and four months for Bkerat, a spokesman for the Waqf Council told Anadolu news agency.
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