Al-Aqsa Mosque Imam Arrested by Israel After Praising Ismail Haniyeh, the slain Hamas leader during Friday Sermon. Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, the former grand mufti of Jerusalem and head of its Supreme Islamic Council, referred to Haniyeh as a “martyr,” according to his lawyer Hamza Qatina.
Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Tehran on 31 July 2024, in an attack attributed to Israel by Iran and the Palestinian group, although Israel has not commented on the incident.
Sheikh Ekrima Sabri is currently being held at Al-Maskobiya police compound. Israeli police, without naming Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, confirmed they are investigating an imam for making inciting statements and supporting terrorism during a sermon.
Previously, in June, 2024 Sheikh Ekrima Sabri faced charges of inciting terrorism for allegedly praising Palestinian gunmen responsible for the deaths of four Israelis, including a soldier, in October 2022. Sheikh Ekrima Sabri had then denounced these allegations as part of a “fabricated” campaign against him.
Additionally, a man in his twenties was also arrested for making inciting statements during Jumma prayers, Israeli police reported.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, revered as Islam’s third holiest site and a Palestinian national symbol, is also known to Jews as the Temple Mount, the site of the ancient temple destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. While Jews are permitted to visit the mosque compound, they are forbidden from praying there, a rule increasingly challenged by hardline religious nationalists.
Last month, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir claimed he had prayed at the mosque compound.
Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and annexed it, a move not recognized by the international community. The Palestinians claim east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.
