Sheikh indicted for incitement to terror in Temple Mount speech

56-year-old Sheikh Esmat Hamouri was indicted for calling directly for acts of terror during a speech to prayer goers on the Temple Mount, the State Attorney’s Office’s Jerusalem District said on Monday.

Approximately two weeks ago some 200 young Palestinians gathered near the Dome of the Rock, some with green flags and calling “Allah Akbar.” The sheikh spoke for about 10 minutes, during which the crowd chanted praise for Muhamad Def, head of Hamas’ military wing.

“We tell our brothers in Gaza and Palestine and everywhere the words of Allah — do not trust those who grasped hell, and whoever wants to free the al-Aqsa mosque will not succeed without weapons and power and the unity of Muslim countries,” Hamouri was quoted in the indictment as saying.

“There is no alternative but to unify the Islamic countries and determinedly free al-Aqsa mosque. This is not impossible for Allah. The good began at al-Aqsa and the goodwill return to al-Aqsa,” he said.

His words were filmed and posted on TikTok.

Palestinians attend Eid al-Fitr prayers which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, on the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City May 2, 2022. (credit: REUTERS/AMMAR AWAD)The State Attorney’s Office requested that Hamouri be detained until the end of his legal proceedings.

“The defendant’s danger is enhanced in this period and while taking into account the heightened tension that has included terror attacks throughout the country and severe rioting in and around Jerusalem, some of which even occured after the defendant’s speech, including on the Temple Mount. The defendant’s actions and others who behaved like him contribute without doubt to enhancing the tension, and its outcomes in a sensitive period can lead to heightened danger to public safety,” the indictment read.