The Israeli police arrested, at dawn today, Thursday, Sheikh Youssef El-Baz, the imam and preacher of the Great Mosque (Al-Omari Mosque) in the city of Lod, inside the Green Line.
Al-Jazeera correspondent, Najwan Samri, said that Al-Baz was arrested after his house was stormed, and then taken to a police station for interrogation, and that he will appear today before an Israeli court in Rishon LeZion (north of Tel Aviv).
She added that the Israeli police accused him of inciting violence and terrorism through a video he posted two days ago on his Facebook page, in conjunction with the so-called flag march organized by settlers in occupied Jerusalem with a green light from the new Israeli government.
Al-Jazeera correspondent indicated that Sheikh Youssef Al-Baz has been subjected to prosecution by the Israeli authorities for weeks after the events that erupted inside the Green Line.
She explained, in this context, that Israeli settler figures launched an incitement campaign against him because of the post he published on his Facebook page, and said that his arrest today is seen as a response by the Israeli police to that campaign of incitement.
Last month, the Israeli police arrested Sheikh Kamal Al-Khatib, deputy head of the Islamic Movement inside the Green Line, and his detention was repeatedly extended.
Al-Khatib faces Israeli accusations based on publications and statements attributed to him related to the gift of Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa Mosque and the events of Sheikh Jarrah Al-Maqdisi neighborhood, which was the spark behind the escalation in the occupied Palestinian territories last month.