Sheikh Ekrameh Sabri, the Mufti (chief Muslim cleric) of Jerusalem, was questioned by police Tuesday regarding the funneling of money he has collected through the northern branch of the Islamic Movement and to Hamas and other terrorist organizations.
Sabri, who was appointed by Yassir Arafat, was called in for questioning on Sunday and arrived with his lawyers on Tuesday afternoon at the Russian Compound police station in Jerusalem, where he was interrogated for over three hours. He has been arrested several times in the past in response to anti-Jewish incitement to violence in his weekly speeches on the Temple Mount and his close connections with Islamic radicals.
In the past, the Mufti has asserted that the Temple Mount as well as the Western Wall are solely Muslim property with no significance to Judaism. He has also repeatedly encouraged Arabs to riot and attack police following his weekly Friday speeches in the Temple Mount.
Today’s questioning was with regard to Sabri’s involvement with the northern branch of the Israeli Islamic Movement, five senior members of which were arrested recently for providing money to Hamas, who has murdered hundreds of Jews during and preceding the current Oslo War.
A total of 17 members of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement, including the movement’s leader, Sheikh Ra'ad Salah and Umm al-Fahm Mayor Suliman Agabriya, were arrested a month ago, after a two-year-long covert investigation by police and the GSS. The arrests were made on suspicion of violations of Emergency Defense Regulations, contacts with terrorist organizations, and the transfer of millions of dollars to Arab ‘charity’ institutions in Judea, Samaria and Gaza that serve as a front for terrorist groups who use the money to support families of homicide bombers, jailed terrorists as well as to facilitate future attacks.
The suspects deny the charges and claim that any money they have sent to Hamas was purely for the group’s charitable activities.
All but five suspects have been released on bail or placed under house arrest. The State Prosecutor's office will in the next two weeks issue indictments to the Haifa District Court against members of the movement for various charges, among them money laundering and aiding illegal gatherings. The State Prosecutor’s office has yet to release the names of those who will be indicted, but has made clear that the indictments will include financially-related offenses.
Sabri, who was appointed by Yassir Arafat, was called in for questioning on Sunday and arrived with his lawyers on Tuesday afternoon at the Russian Compound police station in Jerusalem, where he was interrogated for over three hours. He has been arrested several times in the past in response to anti-Jewish incitement to violence in his weekly speeches on the Temple Mount and his close connections with Islamic radicals.
In the past, the Mufti has asserted that the Temple Mount as well as the Western Wall are solely Muslim property with no significance to Judaism. He has also repeatedly encouraged Arabs to riot and attack police following his weekly Friday speeches in the Temple Mount.
Today’s questioning was with regard to Sabri’s involvement with the northern branch of the Israeli Islamic Movement, five senior members of which were arrested recently for providing money to Hamas, who has murdered hundreds of Jews during and preceding the current Oslo War.
A total of 17 members of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement, including the movement’s leader, Sheikh Ra'ad Salah and Umm al-Fahm Mayor Suliman Agabriya, were arrested a month ago, after a two-year-long covert investigation by police and the GSS. The arrests were made on suspicion of violations of Emergency Defense Regulations, contacts with terrorist organizations, and the transfer of millions of dollars to Arab ‘charity’ institutions in Judea, Samaria and Gaza that serve as a front for terrorist groups who use the money to support families of homicide bombers, jailed terrorists as well as to facilitate future attacks.
The suspects deny the charges and claim that any money they have sent to Hamas was purely for the group’s charitable activities.
All but five suspects have been released on bail or placed under house arrest. The State Prosecutor's office will in the next two weeks issue indictments to the Haifa District Court against members of the movement for various charges, among them money laundering and aiding illegal gatherings. The State Prosecutor’s office has yet to release the names of those who will be indicted, but has made clear that the indictments will include financially-related offenses.