AFP PHOTO/AHMAD GHARABLI
Israeli forces raided the house of Al-Aqsa mosque manager, Sheikh Najeh Bkerat, early morning Monday, according to state-owned news agency MENA.
Eyewitnesses told Palestine News Network (PNN) that Bkerat was taken from his home in Sur Baher village, south Jerusalem, to Al-Maskoubeya interrogation centre, east Jerusalem.
Bkerat’s wife told Jordanian state-owned news agency, Petra, her husband had surgery recently and the interrogation centre banned some of his medical supplies.
Ten days ago, Israeli forces accused Bkerat of incitement, banning him from being more than 20 metres from the mosque for six months and fining him NIS 3,000.
The decision was issued only a month after he became the manager, according to Turkish state-owned news agency Anadolu.
PNN reported Bkerat’s family considers the Israelis want to stop Brekat “defending the mosque and urging Palestinians to defend Al-Aqsa and bring back its sanctity.”
The manager, who is also head of manuscript and heritage at the mosque, was earlier banned by a press ruling from speaking to the press until the end of 2012.
Al-Aqsa mosque, Jerusalem, is one of the three most sacred prayer houses in Islam, alongside the Holy Ka’aba, Mecca, and the prophet’s mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia.
