2024-08-04 00:39:38
Tel Aviv: Tensions have escalated in the Middle East after the death of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyya in Iran. Meanwhile, Israel has detained a senior Muslim cleric on suspicion of inciting terrorism. According to a report by news agency AFP, the cleric’s lawyer said that he had mourned Ismail Haniyya at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque. At the same time, the Turkish embassy in Tel Aviv lowered its flag to half-mast in honor of Haniya, after which an angry Israel summoned the Turkish deputy ambassador. Israel said that it would not tolerate mourning for a murderer like Haniya. Sheikh Ekrima Sabri (85), the former Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and Palestine and the current head of its Supreme Islamic Council, called Haniya a martyr during his speech at the Al Aqsa Mosque. His lawyer Hamza Katina said, ‘Sabri is currently in the Al-Mascobia police complex. He is being investigated for inciting terrorism because on Friday, during a sermon, he mourned Ismail Haniyya and called him a martyr.’ Ismail Haniya was killed in an attack in Iran on Wednesday. Iran alleges that Haniya was killed by Israel. Israel has not taken responsibility for this.
What did the Israeli police say?
Without naming Sabri, Israeli police said they had “opened an investigation into an imam suspected of making inflammatory statements and supporting terrorism during a Friday sermon.” Sabri has previously been accused of inciting terrorism. In October 2022, Sabri allegedly praised Palestinian gunmen who killed four Israelis, including a soldier. Israeli police said another young man had been arrested.
Israel furious at Türkiye
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday declared a day of national mourning for Haniya on August 2. The Turkish embassy in Israel lowered its flag to half-mast, after which the Israeli foreign ministry summoned Turkey’s deputy ambassador to reprimand him. “Israel will not tolerate showing grief for a murderer like Ismail Haniya,” the Israeli foreign ministry said in a statement. In response, Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Oncu Keceli said in a post on X: “You cannot achieve peace by killing negotiators and threatening diplomats.”