Israel bans 3 Jerusalemites from Al-Aqsa

Three Palestinians were released from Israeli detention centres yesterday but were banned from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque for six months.

According to local sources, Thaer Abu Sbeih, Mahmoud Abed Al-Latif and Rawhi Al-Kalghasi were released by Israeli police on condition that they not enter Al-Aqsa for six months. Abu Sbeih was also fined 1,000 shekels ($265).

It is unclear why the three had been detained, and how long they were held.

An Israeli police spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.

Meanwhile, the Israeli central court sentenced two Palestinians from Jerusalem to prison, according to the Jerusalem Committee for Detainees’ Affairs.

One of the youths, Ismail Mahmoud Rushfi Al-Karaki, 18, was sentenced to 34 months in jail. The teenager was detained on 17 April 2016 by undercover Israeli forces and convicted of throwing Molotov cocktails.

The court also sentenced Muhammad Moussa Abassi, 25, from the occupied East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Silwan to three-and-a-half years and a fine of 5,000 shekels ($1,331) after convicting him of throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails at Israeli forces.