Sheikh Yusuf Mohammed al-Baz, the former Imam of the Great Omari Mosque of Lod, was detained and released on Monday by the police to inquire into a sermon he delivered.
The Central District Commander Deputy Commissioner Avi Bitton ordered the Shfela Precinct to detain the imam at the Lod police station. The sheikh was recently released from prison after serving time for incitement.
On Sunday, the former imam delivered a sermon at the Great Omari Mosque in honor of Eid al-Adha, in which he stated: "We'll do to you what you did to Gaza," hinting at the State of Israel and the residents of Lod. Additional claims of incitement during the address are currently under investigation as well.
Al-Baz was convicted in 2023 for inciting violence against police officers in a post on social media and in a sermon in the mosque in which he praised violent riots on the Temple Mount. He was sentenced to eight months in prison.
He was acquitted from additional counts of incitement during Operation Guardian of the Walls due to a lack of proof.
In the past, he claimed regarding the indictment against him that "the police force is an apartheid police force in an apartheid state that has a vested interest after all of its terrible failings. It needs a 'narrative,' it needs a scapegoat."