Israel authorities have arrested a grand mufti of Jerusalem, Sheikh Ekrima Sabri for mourning the death of the slain Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh during a Friday, August 2 sermon at the Al Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem.
Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated allegedly by Israel in Iran’s capital, Tehran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Wednesday, Press TV reported.
During the Friday Khutba (sermon) speech, Sheikh Sabri who is also serving as the current head of its Supreme Islamic Council called Haniye, a “martyr” and stated that the people of Jerusalem and its surroundings mourned the martyr Haniyeh from the pulpit of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Subsequently, Israeli occupation forces stormed into the house of the Imam to arrest him, and took him for investigation to the “Al-Maskobyeh” police station, according to a relative who spoke to Anadolu.
Video footage captures the moment Israeli forces arrested 85-year-old Ekrima Sabri from his home in Jerusalem.
It is pertinent to mention that the Al Aqsa Mosque compound is the third holiest place of Muslims and is the national symbol of Palestine. It is also reserved by all three Abrahamic religions, Muslims, Christians, and Jews. It was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.
This incident comes amid heightened tensions in the region following the deadly Israeli onslaught in war-torn the Gaza Strip and other Palestinian-occupied territories, which has killed nearly 39,500 civilians since October 2023.
The escalation also includes an exchange of cross-border attacks between Israel and Hezbollah, a Shiite Muslim political party based in Lebanon.
