Occupation prevents Al-Aqsa preacher Sheikh Ekrima Sabri from entering the mosque to perform Friday prayer

Elements of the Israeli police today, Friday, prevented the preacher of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and head of the Supreme Islamic Council, Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, from entering the courtyards of the mosque. This arbitrary measure came shortly before the Friday prayer, as forces intercepted his path and prevented him from crossing the security barriers set up around the Old City.

Sources from Sheikh Sabri's office stated that the prevention occurred specifically at the Lions' Gate area, where the Sheikh tried to reach the mosque as usual to lead worshippers or participate in prayer. Despite repeated attempts and protests against this measure, Israeli forces insisted on their stance without providing any clear justifications or presenting judicial orders that legitimize this restriction.

For his part, the legal team accompanying Sheikh Sabri clarified that the interception and prevention occurred spontaneously and on the ground, confirming that no official legal decision had been issued preventing the preacher from exercising his natural right to worship. The defense considered this step to be part of the ongoing political and religious persecution that the Sheikh has been subjected to for many years, with the aim of marginalizing him from the Jerusalem scene.

In an angry reaction, the Supreme Islamic Council in occupied Jerusalem condemned this act, describing it as 'police thuggery' that lacks any legal or moral cover. The Council stressed in a press statement that sovereignty in Al-Aqsa Mosque is an exclusive right of Muslims and the Islamic Endowments Department, considering the occupation's interventions null and void and without any legitimate effects.

The Council indicated that the city of Jerusalem has turned, due to Israeli practices, into something resembling a military barracks, where strict restrictions are imposed on the movement of worshippers and the entrances leading to holy sites are militarized. It affirmed that Sheikh Ekrima Sabri represents a significant religious authority in Palestine, and that attempts to curtail his role through unjust laws will not succeed in deterring him from fulfilling his national and religious mission.

This incident comes after a series of harassments targeting Sheikh Sabri over the past two years, including administrative decisions to ban him from travel and repeated raids on his home in the Al-Sawana neighborhood. This systematic policy aims to restrict influential figures in Jerusalem and impose a new reality that reduces the Palestinian presence within the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.

It is worth noting that Sheikh Ekrima Sabri had been arrested and interrogated several times in the past on charges related to incitement, charges he always denies, asserting that his role is limited to defending the Islamic character of Al-Aqsa Mosque. These developments coincide with escalating tensions in the holy city due to continued settler incursions and the tightening of restrictions on Palestinian worshippers.

The Israeli police have no sovereignty over Al-Aqsa Mosque, and this prevention was carried out without any legitimacy and by military rule.