OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), Sheikh Raed Salah appeared in a recorded speech before his arrest and his later release, from the Mount of Olives viewpoint in Jerusalem, with the closed Aqsa Mosque behind him, describing it as “wounded, bleeding, and sad” as its closure continues since the early days of the month of Ramadan.
Salah said that the call to prayer (Adhan) and prayers, including Friday and Tarawih, have been disrupted inside the Mosque, which forced worshipers to perform prayers at the thresholds in harsh conditions of cold and rain.
In his statement, he addressed what he described as the wounds of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, in addition to crises affecting a number of Arab and Islamic countries, warning of the widening circle of tension in the region.
In the same context, lawyer Khaled Zabarqa explained that an Israeli special force arrested Sheikh Salah from inside his vehicle while he was heading to respond to an iftar invitation in Occupied Jerusalem, before releasing him later after questioning.
Zabarqa added that the release came with conditions, most notably banning him from the city of Jerusalem for 15 days, describing the arrest and interrogation as “arbitrary”, and linked to the Sheikh’s tour in the city and his holiday greetings visit to Sheikh Ikrima Sabri.
He pointed out that the Sheikh, who is from the city of Umm al-Fahm, spent about two hours in the “al-Maskobiya” interrogation center west of Jerusalem, where he was interrogated after meeting his lawyer.
The Israeli occupation authorities had closed the Aqsa Mosque and the Old City on 28 February, under the pretext of the state of emergency related to the Zio-American aggression on Iran, and prevented the holding of prayers there, including Tarawih.
