Israel arrests Al Aqsa Mosque Imam for mourning Ismail Haniyeh

A senior Muslim cleric was detained on suspicion of inciting "terrorism" after he mourned slain Hamas politburo leader Ismail Haniyeh at Jerusalem's Al Aqsa Mosque, his lawyer told AFP.

Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, 85, the former grand mufti of Jerusalem and current head of its Supreme Islamic Council, called Haniyeh a "martyr" in his sermon at the mosque occupied east Jerusalem, the lawyer said.

Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran early on Wednesday in an attack that Iran and the Palestinian group blamed on Israel.

"( Sabri) is currently in Al Maskobiya (police compound) under investigation on suspicion of inciting terrorism, because he mourned Ismail Haniyeh during the Friday sermon and described him as a martyr," his lawyer Hamza Qatina said.

Israeli police, without naming Sabri, said they had "opened an investigation into an imam suspected of making inciting statements and supporting terrorism during a sermon given (on Friday)".

Sabri was charged with inciting terrorism in June for allegedly praising Palestinian gunmen who killed four Israelis, including a soldier, in October 2022.

At the time, he denounced a "fabricated" campaign against him.

A man in his twenties was also arrested for making "inciting statements" during Friday's prayers, the Israeli police statement added.

The Al Aqsa Mosque compound is Islam's third holiest site and a Palestinian national symbol.