Israel to put Al-Aqsa Mosque preacher on trial for alleged ‘incitement’

By Abdel Ra'ouf Arnaout and Rania Abu Shamala

JERUSALEM/ISTANBUL (AA) – Israeli authorities will put the preacher of East Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, on trial on Tuesday on charges of “incitement.”

The Magistrate’s Court in Jerusalem “will review the indictment file submitted by the Israeli Public Prosecution against Sheikh Ekrima on charges of incitement since July 2024,” his defense office said in a statement.

The defense team said the preacher, 86, faces charges of incitement to terrorism after he offered his condolences over the assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in an Israeli airstrike in Iran in 2024 and the death of Palestinians by Israeli gunfire in the occupied West Bank in 2022.

In August 2024, the Israeli police banned the preacher from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque for six months for offering his condolences over Haniyeh’s death.

“The trial is part of a series of arbitrary measures and political, religious, and ideological persecution against the preacher in recent years, including banning him from Al-Aqsa Mosque, imposing a travel ban, and issuing an order to demolish his home,” the defense team said.

The trial is “a result of the extensive incitement campaign waged against him by far-right parties and organizations,” it added.

Israeli authorities have repeatedly taken measures against Sheikh Ekrima over his sermons in support of Gaza, alongside continued incitement against him by officials in Tel Aviv, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Interior Minister Moshe Arbel.

Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world's third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area Temple Mount, claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.