JERUSALEM: The imam of Al-Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Mohammad al-Abbasi, was arrested by Israeli forces on Monday night from contained in the mosque’s compound in occupied Jerusalem.
The Palestinian information company WAFA reported, citing native sources, that Israeli forces detained the Imam of the historic Al-Aqsa Mosque. No purpose was supplied for the detention.
WAFA acknowledged that the arrest occurred alongside rising Israeli measures in opposition to the revered Al-Aqsa Mosque. These measures embrace restrictions on imams, preachers, and worshipers current on the website, limitations on the entry of worshippers, and heightened incursions by settlers, all whereas being closely protected by Israeli police.
Ramadan entry restrictions
Israeli authorities barred Sheikh al-Abbasi from coming into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound for one week, an order that’s topic to renewal, simply hours earlier than his arrest.
Abbasi expressed deep misery over the ban, particularly as he had just lately resumed his duties after a year-long restoration from a extreme automobile accident. He acknowledged that he was not knowledgeable of the rationale for the restriction.
These restrictions are imposed as preparations intensify for Ramadan prayers, when Islam’s third-holiest website is predicted to host lots of of 1000’s of Palestinian worshippers.
‘Fascist occupation’
Hamas strongly condemned the arrest of al-Abbasi on Tuesday, calling the order banning him from Al-Aqsa Mosque a “blatant interference” within the mosque’s affairs and an “assault on its imams.”
The Palestinian resistance group accused Israeli authorities of escalating violations in opposition to Al-Aqsa’s sanctity. These actions embrace limiting worshippers, obstructing preparations for Ramadan, and permitting a rise in settler incursions.
Hamas interprets these measures as makes an attempt to “Judaise” and achieve management over the mosque, restrict the liberty of worship, and impose a temporal and spatial division on the positioning.
Tensions stay excessive within the Previous Metropolis and surrounding areas of Occupied East Jerusalem because of strict safety measures, together with frequent arrests and bans concentrating on spiritual figures and Palestinian residents.
