His Excellency Prof. DrKoutou Moustapha Sano, Secretary-General of the Academy, received a high-level Palestinian delegation headed by Dr Ahmad Abu Houli, Head of the Refugee Affairs Department in the Palestine Liberation Organisation, on Wednesday, 27 Jumada al‑Akhirah 1447 AH, corresponding to 18 December 2025, at the Academy’s General Secretariat headquarters in Jeddah.
His Excellency welcomed the visiting delegation, expressing his gratitude and appreciation for the visit and praising the Palestinian side’s keenness to strengthen ties of communication and cooperation with the Academy. He also took the opportunity to express his profound gratitude to the State of Palestine for its continued support for the Academy. He reviewed the Academy’s activities, programs, and objectives, particularly those related to raising awareness of the centrality of the Palestinian cause in its resolutions and statements. He affirmed that the Palestinian cause remains the foremost and central issue in the conscience of the Muslim Ummah, noting that the Academy has issued numerous resolutions and statements underscoring this centrality, calling for the defence of the blessed Al‑Aqsa Mosque, and supporting the Palestinian people in attaining their legitimate rights to live freely, safely, and stably on their land. He also reiterated the Academy’s readiness to provide all forms of scholarly, juristic, and intellectual support to the Palestinian people and to help lift the injustice and oppression they have endured for decades.
For his part, Dr Ahmad Abu Houli expressed his gratitude and appreciation to the Secretary-General for the warm reception, praising the Academy’s role and its steadfast positions in support of the Palestinian cause. He briefed His Excellency on the latest political and humanitarian developments in the Gaza Strip, as well as the serious escalation of Israeli violations in the West Bank, including Jerusalem. He also outlined the severe challenges facing the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), amid attempts to undermine and terminate its work. He called on the Academy to take practical steps to support the agency, foremost among them issuing a fatwa permitting Muslims to allocate their zakat funds to it, thereby helping sustain its humanitarian role in serving more than 6.5 million Palestinian refugees.
At the conclusion of the meeting, His Excellency affirmed the Academy’s readiness to work on issuing a fatwa regarding the permissibility of directing zakat funds to support UNRWA, noting that it is an international body specialised in providing aid and assistance to Palestinian refugees. He also indicated that the Academy, in coordination with the State of Palestine, will hold an international symposium on this topic before the month of Ramadan.
Attending the meeting from the Palestinian side were: His Excellency Mr Omar Awadallah, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates for Political Affairs;
His Excellency Ambassador Hadi Shibli, Permanent Representative of the State of Palestine to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation; His Excellency Mr Ihab Al‑Qeisawi, Consul General of the State of Palestine in Jeddah; and His Excellency Mr. Naseem Al‑Za’anin, Deputy Permanent Representative of the State of Palestine to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

It was alos attended by Mr. Muhammad Al‑Munzir Ridha Al‑Shawk, Director of the Office and Protocol Department; Mr. Muhammad Walid Al‑Idrisi, Director of the Media and Public Relations Department; and Mr. Amjad Ibrahim Mustafa Al‑Mansi, Head of the Protocol Division.