Israeli occupation forces arrested Sheikh Ekrema Sabri, the Imam of Al- Aqsa Mosque and head of the Higher Islamic Council in Jerusalem, on Friday afternoon following his eulogy for Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh assassinated by Israel in Tehran during the Friday sermon at Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Local sources confirmed to The New Arab's sister publication Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that Israeli police raided Sheikh Sabri's home in the Al- Suwwana neighborhood, east of the Old City of Jerusalem, and took him to the Moscobiyeh detention center.
Before his arrest, Sheikh Sabri told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that the accusations of incitement against him, led by Israeli Interior Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and National Security Minister Moshe Arbel, were unfounded.
"What I said in my Friday sermon was a religious eulogy and condolence, not incitement," Sabri said. "Where is the freedom of expression they boast about?"