The Israeli occupation intelligence service summoned on Tuesday Sheikh Akram Sabri, the imam of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, for interrogation after storming his home in occupied Jerusalem and handing him the order.
The legal office of the 85-year-old Sabri said that the occupation intelligence service stormed his home at nine am Tuesday and summoned him for interrogation in Section 4, designated for the investigation of Jerusalemites, at the Moscovia Prison, as reported by WAFA, the official Palestinian news agency.
Sabri, who is also the head of the Islamic Authority in Jerusalem, was arrested in August and banned by the Israeli occupation authorities from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque for six months just hours after he delivered the Friday sermon in which he mourned the assassination of Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh in Iran, on July 31.
Sabri’s attorney, Khaled Zabarqa, said in a statement then that the Israeli court issued the decision on August 8, following his detention and release on August 2.
#BREAKING | #AlMayadeen's correspondent: Occupation authorities summon Sheikh Ekrimah Sabri, the imam of Al-Aqsa Mosque, for questioning after raiding his home in occupied #AlQuds.#Palestine#WestBank pic.twitter.com/IMYynWuKOc
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) September 3, 2024
The Israeli occupation police have arrested Sheikh Sabri several times over the past few years.
In parallel, illegal Jewish settlers stormed on Tuesday the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem under the protection of the Israeli occupation forces, WAFA reported.
Eyewitnesses told the official Palestinian news agency that dozens of illegal Jewish settlers “carried out provocative tours in Al-Aqsa Mosque and performed Talmudic rituals in its courtyards.”
This came hand in hand with the tightening of military measures by Israeli occupation forces in the old city of occupied Jerusalem during which they deployed their forces at the gates of the holy mosque and subjected Palestinian worshipers to security measures and restrictions of entry, per eyewitnesses quoted by WAFA.
Nonstop Israeli Provocation
The Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir caused an outcry on August 26 after claiming that Jews have the right to pray at the Al-Aqsa and that if he could, he would build a synagogue at the site.
A day later the Israeli government announced its unprecedented plans to finance the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by illegal Jewish settlers in the occupied East Jerusalem, Israeli media has reported.
‘Retaliatory’ – Al-Aqsa Mosque’s Preacher Banned From Entering Holy Site for Six Months
The office of Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu will allocate 2 million NIS ($545,000) for the project, which is expected to be implemented in the coming weeks, according to Israeli public broadcaster KAN, cited by the Anadolu news agency.
KAN said the Heritage Ministry was in contact with the National Security Ministry of extremist Itamar Ben-Gvir to obtain Israeli police permission for the settlers’ funded tours to the Al-Aqsa mosque.
These announcements come amid ongoing incursions into the al-Aqsa compound by settlers, under police protection. Ben-Gvir himself has been involved in the incursions at times.
Israel’s Escalatory Measures
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) strongly condemned the statements by Ben-Gvir as well as the ongoing incursions and “desecrations” of the mosque’s courtyards “by extremist settler groups and Israeli ministers.”
The organization emphasized in a statement on August 26 that “all decisions and measures taken by the Israeli occupation to Judaize the occupied city of Al-Quds have no legal standing and are considered null and void under international law and resolutions of international legitimacy.”
The Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas warned on its part of a potential ‘religious war’ in the region following Israel’s decision to fund tours of Al-Aqsa Mosque for illegal Jewish settlers.
“The occupation government’s decision to fund Zionist tours of Al-Aqsa Mosque is a dangerous escalation and playing with fire, leading the region towards a religious war for which the occupation and its supporters will bear responsibility,” Hamas said in a statement.
(PC, WAFA, AJA)
