Israeli police arrest Al-Aqsa Mosque preacher for mourning Haniyeh

By Ahmed Asmar

ANKARA (AA) - Israeli police on Friday arrested Al-Aqsa Mosque preacher Sheikh Ekrima Sabri for mourning slain Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh.

Haniyeh was assassinated on Wednesday in Tehran, Iran’s capital. While Hamas and Iran blamed Israel for the killing, Tel Aviv has not confirmed or denied its responsibility.

One of Sabri’s relatives told Anadolu that the Israeli police officers stormed into his home in the occupied East Jerusalem and arrested him.

Following the Friday prayer in Al-Aqsa Mosque, Sabri led a funeral prayer in absentia for Haniyeh.

"The people of Jerusalem and the environs of Jerusalem from the pulpit of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque mourn the martyr Ismail Haniyeh," he said during his sermon.

Following the sermon, the Israeli police said they were probing whether the statement constituted “incitement” and that they would act accordingly.

The 85-year-old preacher was detained multiple times by the Israeli forces in the past and was banned from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem for several months.

Sabri is a staunch critic of the decades-long Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories. He had previously held the position of mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories from 1994 to 2006.