Al-Aqsa imam calls for Muslim solidarity against Israeli crimes

ISTANBUL (AA) – Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, the imam of Al-Aqsa Mosque, on Sunday called on the Muslim world to show solidarity with the Palestinian people in their struggle against Israeli crimes.

A statement issued by Sabri’s office on Eid al-Fitr holiday highlighted “the ongoing genocide in Gaza and military aggression in the occupied West Bank.”

Sabri extended Eid greetings to the Muslim world, noting that “while the community celebrates the occasion, the Palestinian people continue to endure pain and sorrow.”

“This Eid comes as blood is still being shed, and Al-Aqsa remains besieged under the weight of occupation,” he added.

Sabri stressed that Gaza’s children have been “deprived of joy for over a year and a half, enduring Eid in conditions of hunger, illness, and despair.”

The Israeli army launched a surprise aerial campaign on the Gaza Strip on March 18, which has killed over 920 people and injured more than 2,000.

Since October 2023, Israel has killed more than 50,200 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in Gaza.

Sabri also remarked on the isolation of Jerusalem, with Muslims being barred from accessing the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

He also called attention to the suffering of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, where more than 9,500 detainees endure abuse and medical neglect, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights groups’ reports.

In July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s longstanding occupation of Palestinian territories illegal, calling for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.