Yunis Al Astal is a Hamas member of the Palestinian Legislative Council and a preacher, one of sixteen people named on a UK list of individuals barred for stirring up hatred. Through 2010 the opening said he was banned for engaging in unacceptable behaviour by seeking to foment, justify or glorify terrorist violence in furtherance of particular beliefs. Today the opening carries neither the ban nor the reason for it, though the word terror survives twice elsewhere in the article. A reader today learns he writes on Islamic law, sociology and politics, and not why the UK government barred him from entering the country.
Read line by line and written up by hand.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-01. “terror” appeared 2 times in this article's opening at its peak. Today the opening has none; the body has 2.
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The opening as it read in 2010
Yunis Al Astal is a preacher and Hamas member of the Palestinian Legislative Council for the area of Khan Yunis He was named on the list of "Individuals banned from the UK for stirring-up hatred" for "engaging in unacceptable behaviour by seeking to foment, justify or glorify terrorist violence in furtherance of particular beliefs and to provoke others to terrorist acts." In 2006 he was identified as a Qassam Resistance Member by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation . On the occasion of Pope Benedict XVI 's visit to Jordan and Israel, he said that Arab governments that welcome the Pope harm the Prophet Mohammed more than the pontiff's controversial statements against the founder of Islam.1
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 336347205.
The opening as it stood in 2015
Yunis Al Astal ( Arabic : يونس الأسطل) is a preacher and Hamas member of the Palestinian Legislative Council for the area of Khan Yunis He writes as a journalist on topics like Islamic law (fiqh), sociology and politics. He was named on the list of "Individuals banned from the UK for stirring-up hatred" for "engaging in unacceptable behaviour by seeking to foment, justify or glorify terrorist violence in furtherance of particular beliefs and to provoke others to terrorist acts." In 2006 he was identified as a Member of the Al-Qassam Brigades by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation . On the occasion of Pope Benedict XVI 's visit to Jordan and Israel, he said that Arab governments that welcome the Pope harm the Prophet Mohammed more than the pontiff's controversial statements against the founder of Islam.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 655966382.
The opening as it stood in 2020
Yunis Al Astal ( ; born 1956) is a preacher and Hamas member of the Palestinian Legislative Council for the area of Khan Yunis . He writes as a journalist on topics like Islamic law (fiqh), sociology and politics. He was named on the list of "Individuals banned from the UK for stirring-up hatred" for "engaging in unacceptable behaviour by seeking to foment, justify or glorify terrorist violence in furtherance of particular beliefs and to provoke others to terrorist acts." In 2006 he was identified as a Member of the Al-Qassam Brigades by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation . On the occasion of Pope Benedict XVI 's visit to Jordan and Israel, he said that Arab governments that welcome the Pope harm the Prophet Mohammed more than the pontiff's controversial statements against the founder of Islam. On April 11, 2008 Al-Astal made an inflammatory sermon in which he advocated the conquest of Rome, which he referred to as the "Crusader Capital", as well as Eastern Europe and the "Two Americas".He refers to Jews in Israel as "brothers of apes and pigs".Allah has chosen you for Himself and for His religion, so that you will serve as the engine pulling this nation to the phase of succession, security, and consolidation of power, and even to conquests thorough da'wa and military conquests of the capitals of the entire world.Very soon, Allah willing, Rome will be conquered, just like Constantinople was, as was prophesied by our Prophet Muhammad.Today, Rome is the capital of the Catholics, or the Crusader capital, which has declared its hostility to Islam, and has planted the brothers of apes and pigs in Palestine in order to prevent the reawakening of Islam -- this capital of theirs will be an advanced post for the Islamic conquests, which will spread through Europe in its entirety, and then will turn to the two Americas, and even Eastern Europe.I believe that our children or our grandchildren will inherit our Jihad and our sacrifices, and Allah willing, the commanders of the conquest will come from among them.Today, we instill these good tidings in their souls, and by means of the mosques and the Koran books, and the history of our Prophets, his companions, and the great leaders, we prepare them for the mission of saving humanity from the hellfire on the brink of which they stand.The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) translated his sermon and posted the video for paid subscribers on the Internet.In an Interview by Al-Aqsa TV on May 11, 2011 which was translated by MEMRI TV he said: "The [Jews] are brought in droves to Palestine so that the Palestinians – and the Islamic nation behind them – will have the honor of annihilating the evil of this gang." "…All the predators, all the birds of prey, all the dangerous reptiles and insects, and all the lethal bacteria are far less dangerous than the Jews." "…In just a few years, all the Zionists and the settlers will realize that their arrival in Palestine was for the purpose of the great massacre, by means of which Allah wants to relieve humanity of their evil." "…When Palestine is liberated and its people return to it, and the entire region, with the grace of Allah, will have turned into the United States of Islam, the land of Palestine will become the capital of the Islamic Caliphate, and all these countries will turn into states within the Caliphate." Rouse, Beverley (2009-05-05).
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 935574184.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 11 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Palestinian preacher and Hamas politician ( Learn how and when to remove this message ) Yunis Al Astal ( ; born 1956) is a preacher and Hamas member of the Palestinian Legislative Council for the area of Khan Yunis . He writes as a journalist on topics like Islamic law (fiqh), sociology and politics.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1148844027.
The opening as it stood in 2025 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Palestinian preacher and Hamas politician ( Learn how and when to remove this message ) Yunis Al Astal ( Arabic : يونس الأسطل ; born 1956) is a preacher and Hamas member of the Palestinian Legislative Council for the area of Khan Yunis . He writes on topics such as Islamic law (fiqh), sociology and politics.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1282825703. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
“terror” appeared 2 times in this article's opening at its peak. Today the opening has none; the body has 2. Read the current article and compare.
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
terror
2
2
2
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jihad
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1
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massacre
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1
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Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined between 2010 and 2025.
Then
preacher and hamas member of the palestinian legislative council for the area of khan yunis he was named on the
Now
preacher and hamas member of the palestinian legislative council for the area of khan yunis
Sections that no longer exist
Present on 6 October 2023, absent today. A heading can vanish because the section was deleted or because it was renamed or merged, and we have not separated those here, so treat this as a list of what to check rather than a verdict.
Advocacy of violence2,559 characters
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.