JERUSALEM : Israeli police detained the top Muslim cleric in the Holy Land Wednesday in a rare crackdown on a leading religious figure, questioning him for several hours before releasing him without charge.Later in the day, in the Gaza Strip, an influential Muslim cleric from Qatar received a hero's welcome in a high-profile visit that deepened the bitter division between Gaza's hardline Islamist rulers and the West Bank's Western-backed Palestinian leaders.
The detention of the mufti of Jerusalem, which followed recent unrest at a disputed holy site in Jerusalem, drew harsh condemnation from Palestinian leaders and neighboring Jordan and threatened to complicate U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's latest effort to restart Mideast peace talks.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said mufti Mohammed Hussein was questioned for six hours in connection to "recent disturbances" on a hilltop compound in Jerusalem's Old City that is revered by Jews and Muslims. This included "incitement, disturbances and public disorder."
Hussein was released without being charged, Rosenfeld said. He did not elaborate, but another Israeli official said the Muslim cleric was issued a warning and told to lower tensions
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