"Israel" has sentenced a 70-year-old Palestinian Imam to three years in prison for alleged "incitement to terrorism", more than a year after the beginning of the Israeli genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

Media outlets reported that an Israeli court handed down the sentence to Sheikh Jamal Mustafa, the Imam of a mosque in the al-Issawiya neighborhood in occupied al-Quds. The charges stem from allegations of incitement during one of his sermons last year.

Sheikh Jamal Mustafa was initially arrested in October of the previous year, coinciding with the start of the Israeli ongoing bombardment and invasion of Gaza. His arrest was part of a broader crackdown on Palestinian expressions of support for Resistance movements.

In addition to Sheikh Mustafa's detention and sentencing, Israeli authorities have also imprisoned two other imams in al-Quds on similar charges.

Not an isolated incident

The crackdown on religious figures in the region is nothing new, each time under different pretexts.

On August 8, the Israeli occupation banned occupied al-Quds' Grand Mufti and preacher of the al-Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, from entering Palestine's holiest mosque for six months. 

Sheikh Sabri was arrested on August 2 after Israeli occupation forces (IOF) raided his home in the al-Sawana neighborhood in occupied al-Quds and was taken to the Israeli al-Moskobiya (Moscovia) detention center in the city. He was later released.

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He was arrested because he eulogized Hamas political bureau chief martyr Ismail Haniyeh days after he was assassinated by "Israel" in Tehran.

IOF arrest 11,600+ Palestinians from West Bank since October 2023

The crackdown also extends to civilians as reported by the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Society, which announced, on Wednesday, that at least 12 Palestinians were rounded up and detained during Israeli raids in the occupied West Bank. 

Israeli occupation forces (IOF) stormed several towns and cities across the West Bank, including occupied al-Quds, Ramallah, al-Khalil, Tulkarm, and Nablus. One of the detainees is a liberated detainee who was released only two days ago, according to the joint statement issued by the Commission and PPS. 

Palestinians were also forcefully interrogated in the towns of Burin and Madama in the northern West Bank. Israeli raids were, as usual, accompanied by severe physical and verbal abuse of Palestinians, threats against them and their families, as well as the vandalization of their homes, the joint statement affirmed. 

In this context, video footage circulated online showing a Palestinian youth being verbally and physically abused by a gang of Israeli occupation soldiers, in occupied al-Quds. 

The IOF have so far detained over 11,600 Palestinians since the beginning of the genocide in Gaza on October 7, 2023, excluding those abducted from Gaza. The number includes the re-arrest of liberated detainees. 

IOF escalate administrative detention, issuing 9,500+ orders in Oct.

Last week, the Commission of Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Society issued a joint statement highlighting a sharp increase in administrative detention orders imposed by the Israeli occupation against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and al-Quds. According to the report, over 9,500 such orders, both new and renewed, were issued in October alone.

The report indicated that, as of early October 2024, at least 3,398 Palestinians are currently held under administrative detention, including 30 women and approximately 90 children, among them a 14-year-old boy named Ammar Abdul Kareem. These administrative detainees now constitute about 33% of the total Palestinian prisoner population held by "Israel".

The statement emphasized that this increase in administrative detention is part of a strategy to suppress the social, political, and cultural roles of Palestinian society. Targeted groups include students, journalists, activists, and human rights defenders, with a substantial portion of administrative detainees comprising former prisoners.

Recent practices include returning detainees who have completed their sentences to administrative detention, as well as issuing administrative detention orders for detainees who had been released on bail or under other conditions. The statement criticized Israeli occupation forces' courts for institutionalizing administrative detention, especially under the current government, which it claims has aligned the judicial system with settler interests.

Read more: Voices from behind bars: Gaza detainees endure dire conditions in Ofer