The senior Imam of Al-Aqsa Mosque called for the lifting of sanctions imposed on the Gaza Strip by the Palestinian Authority during his sermon yesterday. Shaikh Ekrima Sabri stressed that it is not permissible according to Islamic Law to punish two million Palestinians in this manner.
Al Aqsa Mosque – Occupied East Jerusalem – Sheikh Ekrama Sabri : The blockade of and the sanction on Gaza must be lifted . 2 million Palestinians can not / may not be punished this way ! #AlAqsaComplex #AlAqsaMosque #HaramAlSharif #Gaza #Palestine #Jerusalem https://t.co/U1JYOahXc0
— alaqsa81090 (@alaqsa81090) August 24, 2018
Around 40,000 worshippers listened to the sermon on the first Friday after Eid Al-Adha. Shaikh Sabri insisted:
“The siege of Gaza and the sanctions must be lifted for the sake of our unity.”
He also condemned the Israeli forces’ ongoing closures of Al-Aqsa Mosque, stressing that they have no legitimate control over Jerusalem and the Noble Sanctuary of Al-Aqsa.
#FreeQuds Shaikh Ekrima Sabri was injured during the Israeli occupation attacks on Palestinian worshippers at al Asbat gate pic.twitter.com/J09UxTka7f
— Ebhar-ı Vasia (@EbhariVasia) July 18, 2017
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas imposed a series of sanctions on Gaza in April 2017. The sanctions included the deduction of about 30 percent of PA salaries, cutting electricity supplies and medical transfers, and the referral of more than 20,000 government employees for early retirement.
Protest in Ramallah demands ending the GAZA BLOCKADE and ABBAS/PA SANCTIONS on the Gaza Strip pic.twitter.com/FK2LE2WdGS
— Palestine Video (@PalestineVideo) August 15, 2018
The sanctions were even strengthened in April, with cuts to salaries rising to 50 percent.
(MEMO, PC, Social Media)
