Egypt presidency forced Al-Azhar to delete statement condemning Israel's starvation of Gaza

Egypt's presidency pressured Ahmed al-Tayeb, the grand imam of Al-Azhar, the world's foremost Islamic institution, to withdraw a statement condemning Israel's "genocidal starvation" of Gaza, sources told Middle East Eye.

The Cairo-based Al-Azhar said on Wednesday that it had deleted a strongly worded call to action over the starvation of Palestinians in Gaza, citing its potential impact on ceasefire negotiations. 

In a statement, the institution said it "took the initiative to withdraw its statement with courage and responsibility before God when it realised that this statement could impact the ongoing negotiations regarding a humanitarian truce in Gaza to save innocent lives".

"Al-Azhar has prioritised the interests of preventing the daily bloodshed in Gaza, hoping that the negotiations will lead to an immediate halt to the bloodshed and provide the most basic necessities of life, of which the oppressed Palestinian people have been deprived," the statement said.

But two sources close to Al-Azhar and the Egyptian presidency confirmed to Middle East Eye that the statement was removed shortly after it was published on Tuesday following a request from President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi's office. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the press.

The reason for the withdrawal was that the statement referred to the complicy of third states in what Al-Azhar described as "fully fledged genocide" in Gaza.

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