The Israeli police temporarily detained the imam of the "Al Aqsa" mosque. in the Old City of Jerusalem for prayers for the murdered leader of the radical Palestinian group "Hamas" Ismail Haniya, who was buried in Qatar's capital Doha yesterday, DPA reported.
Police officers held 85-year-old Ekrima Sabri for several hours after his prayers yesterday, his lawyers said, the agency quoted him as saying. Media in Israel reported that authorities are investigating whether Sabri incited violence with his prayers for Haniya.
Sabri has stated that the people of Jerusalem will pray to Allah to grant the martyr his mercy. "We ask for compassion and paradise for him," the imam, who heads the Palestinian Supreme Islamic Council, reportedly said.
The Hamas movement, which is at war with Israel in the Gaza Strip, announced on Wednesday that Haniya had been killed.
The political leader of the Palestinian group whose attack on southern Israel on October 7 last year led to the Israeli army's advance into Gaza was mourned by thousands attending the funeral ceremony for him and his bodyguard in the Qatari capital Doha yesterday.
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The funeral was attended by members of the Palestinian armed groups "Hamas" and "Islamic Jihad", as well as official representatives of Qatar and Iran, AP notes. "We are sure that his shed blood will bring us victory, dignity and freedom," said the high-ranking official representative of "Hamas" in his prayer. Khalil al-Haya. He is considered the likely successor to Haniya at the head of the radical Palestinian movement, the AP points out.