Israel bans meetings between Sheikhs Ekrima Sabri and Raed Salah

Israel’s occupation authorities have banned the Grand Sheikh of Al Aqsa Mosque, Ekrima Sabri, from meeting with Sheikh Raed Salah and seven other leading Arab Israeli activists for three months, Arab48.com reported on Tuesday. As well as Salah, the ban covers Sheikh Kamal Al-Khatib, Suleiman Aghbariyeh, Mohammed Amarah, Fawwaz Aghbariyeh, Salim Awawdeeh, Majdi Al-Khatib and Tamer Shalaatah.

Sheikh Sabri said that he had never heard of or met with some of the named individuals. He noted that this is the third time that he has been banned from meeting Palestinians from Israel.

“This ban is aimed at damaging the Palestinian social fabric and cutting connections among the Palestinians from different Palestinian locations,” the veteran Imam explained. “For me, I deal with all the Palestinians between the river [Jordan] and the [Mediterranean] sea because Palestinians, for me, are one family.”

Sheikh Sabri added that as a senior Muslim scholar he has the right to deal with Muslims from all over the world.

Israel has issued several such bans recently, including one against Jerusalem’s Governor Adnan Gheith, who was detained, investigated and then released on condition of not meeting with certain Palestinians in the West Bank and Israel.

READ: Al-Aqsa Imam calls Israeli violations in Sheikh Jarrah ‘existential war’