Israeli authorities have imposed a six-month entry ban on Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, the former Imam of Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is Islam’s third holy site located in the old city of Jerusalem.
According to the report, the Israeli authorities issued the ban on Thursday, August 8.
The entry ban on the Imam of Jerusalem follows his participation in a funeral prayer and sermon for the assassinated Hamas political bureau chief, Ismail Haniyeh.
This decision, confirmed by his defence lawyer, Khaled Zabarka, prohibits Sheikh Sabri from entering the mosque and its surrounding areas.
Following the assassination of Hamas chief Haniyeh in Iran’s capital, Tehran, Sabri held an absentia funeral and delivered a Khutba (Sermon) on Friday’s congregational prayer in the Mosque.
Sabri expressed condolences and called Haniye a “martyr” while stating 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. They took him to the “Al-Maskobyeh” police station for an investigation, according to a relative who spoke to Anadolu.
The 85-year-old cleric, who is also serving as the current head of its Supreme Islamic Council, has been a vocal critic of Israeli policies and has faced previous detentions and restrictions on his access to the mosque.
