DOHA (Palestine Foundation Information Center) Hamas’s political bureau member Ezzat al-Resheq has condemned the Israeli police’s decision to banish Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, head of the Higher Islamic Council in Occupied Jerusalem, from the Aqsa Mosque as “blatant interference in the Mosque’s affairs” and a “violation against freedom of religion.”
In a brief statement on Friday, Resheq described Sheikh Sabri as “one of the most important Palestinian religious figures,” holding the Israeli occupation authority fully responsible for any harm coming to him in light of his exposure to an Israeli incitement campaign.
The Israeli police kidnaped Sheikh Sabri from his home in Jerusalem for mourning and eulogizing the martyr Ismail Haneyya, the Political Bureau Chairman of Hamas Movement, during the Friday khutba (sermon) he delivered at the Aqsa Mosque.
Later, the police released him on condition of not entering the Aqsa Mosque until next Sunday, threatening to extend his banishment from the holy site for an additional six months.
