17 Oct 2019; MEMO: Israeli occupation forces yesterday arrested Sheikh Ismail Nawahda, a preacher at Al-Aqsa Mosque, at the Qalandia checkpoint in the occupied West Bank, Wafa news agency reported.
Another 22 Palestinians were also detained yesterday from across the occupied West Bank, the news agency added.
Sheikh Nawahda was taken in for investigation at one of the Israeli police stations in West Jerusalem.
Palestinian lawyer Khaldoun Nijm said he was accused by the Israeli occupation for inciting violence during the sermons he gives on Fridays.
“The Sheikh denied the Israeli allegations,” the lawyer said, stressing that freedom of expression “is a right guaranteed by all statutes and conventions.”
The lawyer expressed his concerns that the Israeli occupation might be planning to interfere in the Friday sermons at Al-Aqsa Mosque through the detention of Nawahda.
“The Israeli occupation authorities are escalating the situation in the city of Jerusalem and it is attempting to interfere in the Friday sermon. This is absolutely rejected.”
