Al-Aqsa imam indicted on charges of incitement to terrorism
Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, former mufti of Jerusalem, is accused of praising terror attacks in 2022 in which four Israelis were killed; he says charges are ‘fabricated’
The imam of Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque denounced on Thursday a “fabricated” campaign against him after being charged with inciting terrorism for allegedly praising Palestinian gunmen who killed four Israelis, including a soldier.
Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, 85, formerly mufti of Jerusalem and now head of the Supreme Islamic Council in the city, preaches at the contested Jerusalem holy site.
Sabri was indicted this week for inciting terrorism for comments he made that allegedly supported an attacker who shot at guards in the West Bank settlement of Maale Adumim, killing a soldier, in October 2022.
The imam is also accused of praising a second attacker, Raad Hazam, who killed three Israelis and wounded six others in an April 2022 shooting in Tel Aviv. The 28-year-old was later killed in a shootout with security guards.
“The state attorney’s office submitted to the Jerusalem magistrate court an indictment against… the former mufti of the city, after he incited terrorism and praised terrorists,” the Justice Ministry said in a statement Wednesday.
It said Sabri had “praised and sympathized with terrorists” during a visit to Hazam’s family home.
Sabri denied the allegations, saying he merely offered condolences to the families of the attackers after their deaths.
“This is a false accusation; the indictment is fabricated and malicious,” he said.
“Offering condolences does not mean that we support what the children did.”
Sabri’s lawyer Khaled Zabarqa said his client had been targeted for political reasons.
“The indictment is the result of political action and not legal action. The sheikh has been persecuted for two years,” he told AFP.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound sits on the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism. The flashpoint site is considered the third holiest in Islam and the holiest in Judaism.
The site’s status is the emotional epicenter of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and even perceived changes have ignited previous rounds of violence.
Jews are officially only allowed to visit, but not pray.
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir this month called for Jews to be allowed to pray at the sensitive site, but higher officials have rebuffed the idea, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said that the status quo will not change at the site.
Times of Israel Staff contributed to this report
