RAMALLAH, West Bank — On May 22, a group of worshipers in Al-Aqsa Mosque verbally assaulted Chief Justice of Jordan Ahmed Halil as he headed to give the Friday sermon, accusing him of entering Al-Aqsa under Israeli permission, sparking the old Palestinian dispute over Arab visits to Al-Aqsa under occupation.

Palestinians disagree about Arab visits to Jerusalem from religious and national perspectives. While the Palestinian Authority (PA) encourages such visits — as long as they do not lead to a normalization of relations with Israel — many national and religious figures believe these visits further entrench the Israeli occupation, contribute to the normalization of relations and embellish Israel's image before the world.

This altercation sparked a new point of contention between the Fatah movement, which considered the visit to Jerusalem a move in the national and religious battle, and the Hamas movement, which held that the need to visit Al-Aqsa cannot justify the risk of normalization of relations with the occupation.

Each party relies on religious fatwas that support its point of view. The PA, represented by Mahmoud al-Habash, the presidential adviser on religious affairs, stated, “Visiting Jerusalem is not normalization of relations with the occupation.” He referred to the Council of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy (IIFA), which issued Resolution 216 on visiting Jerusalem, confirming that a Sharia ruling found the act recommended and desirable. On the other hand, some opponents invoke the advisory opinion of the head of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who prohibited Palestinians from visiting Jerusalem under Israeli occupation.