The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem has denounced Israel’s arrest and interrogation of Palestinian children, as well as the long sentences they are given, Jordan’s Al-Sabeel newspaper has reported. Shaikh Ikrima Sabri made his comments during his Friday sermon in Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. He described the conviction of the children as “unfair, illegal and inhumane”; Israel’s strategy is to “frighten” Palestinian children, he claimed.
“These Israeli measures against children are unlawful because they are based on ‘confessions’ made under interrogation in prisons,” Shaikh Sabri pointed out. “No convictions should be based on such confessions.” He insisted that all sentences issued by Israeli courts in this way are “invalid and illegal”, and called on the children’s lawyers to pay attention to this point.
Sheikh Sabri also spoke about the referendum regarding Jewish prayers in Al-Aqsa Mosque. He suggested that the result of the poll, which showed that a majority of Jews support the move to allow such prayers in the mosque, demonstrates that there is no difference between the right-wing and left-wing in Israel. “Taken as part of the election campaign,” said the mufti, “this shows that as far as the Palestinians are concerned, there are no differences between Jewish political parties.”
He stressed that the ongoing Israeli violations of the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque would never give the Jews any right to pray in any part of the Noble Sanctuary. “The daily violations by Israeli police against Palestinian women in Al-Aqsa will never stop our women from staying here,” he added.