This came after the conclusion of Sheikh Akrama Sabri’s trial session before the Israeli Magistrates’ Court in West Jerusalem, where it was decided to hold another session on January 6.
Sheikh Sabri told Anadolu Agency: “The methods used by the occupation authorities (referring to his trial) are unacceptable, unjustified, illegal and inhumane, and their aim is to silence the voice that opposes the incursions of extremist Jews into Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
He continued: “All the issues revolve around the subject of Al-Aqsa and our firm stance on the issue of the mosque, which we will not give up,” adding: “We will not give up Al-Aqsa Mosque because it is part of our faith, and what is happening is a violation of the sanctity of Al-Aqsa, and therefore the occupying authorities are trying to silence our voice and silence the opposition that stands up to these extremists.”
He continued, saying: "The goal of the Israeli persecutions is to instill fear in the people, so that they do not try to oppose and stand up to these Jewish extremists, and we are true to our promise and our pledge, God willing."
Sheikh Sabri, 87, arrived at the court earlier on Tuesday in a wheelchair, surrounded by a number of lawyers, while other Palestinian citizens were present to express their solidarity with him. The court guards did not allow a number of citizens to enter the hall.
Reading the indictment
Earlier on Tuesday, Sheikh Sabri’s lawyer, Khaled Zabarqa, said: “The court convened today, and the indictment was read. We, in turn, asked the court to hand over investigation materials that we have not received.” He added: “The court decided to reconvene on January 6.”
Attorney Zbarqa continued: "Once we receive the investigation materials, we, as the defense team, will ask the court to cancel the indictment against the Sheikh," without specifying a date.
Zbarqa considered that “the indictment represents an extension of the occupation’s policies of racist political persecution against Sheikh Sabri and other Jerusalemite figures, with the aim of restricting their role and influencing their speeches.”
On Monday, Sheikh Sabri’s defense team said in a written statement that the court would consider “the indictment file submitted by the Israeli Public Prosecution against His Eminence the Sheikh on charges of incitement since July 2024.”
He pointed out that the indictment submitted by the prosecution includes “charging Sheikh Sabri with incitement to terrorism,” based on two condolence speeches he delivered in 2022 at the mourning houses of Uday al-Tamimi and Raed Khazem in the Shuafat and Jenin camps, in addition to a third charge related to mourning the leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, in the Friday sermon at Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The legal team considered that “the aforementioned trial procedures come within a series of arbitrary measures and political, religious and intellectual persecution carried out by the Israeli occupation against Sheikh Akrama Sabri in recent years, including his removal from the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, preventing him from traveling and communicating with certain figures, and issuing a decision to demolish his house.”
Israeli authorities have repeatedly taken action against Sabri because of his speeches expressingsolidarity with the Gaza Strip, as well as continuous incitement from officials in Tel Aviv, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Interior Minister Moshe Arbel.
The Gaza Strip was subjected to a genocidal war launched by Israel on October 7, 2013, which ended two years later with a ceasefire agreement, leaving more than 69,000 Palestinian martyrs and over 170,000 wounded, most of them children and women, with reconstruction costs estimated by the United Nations at approximately $70 billion.