By Abdelraouf Arnaout
JERUSALEM (AA) – Israel filed incitement charges on Wednesday against the preacher of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem, according to his defense lawyer.
“An indictment was filed by the Israeli authorities against Sheikh Ekrima Sabri in the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court,” Khaled Zabarqa told Anadolu.
He said Israeli authorities considered Sabri’s speech while offering his condolences to the families of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in Jerusalem and Jenin as “incitement to terrorism.”
“We believe this is a politically motivated pursuit driven by Israeli extremist groups that have become an integral part of the Israeli government,” Zabarqa said.
Sabri was detained multiple times by the Israeli forces in the past and was banned from entering the 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.
Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world's third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area the Temple Mount, saying 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, a move never recognized by the international community.
*Writing by Mohammad Sio