JERUSALEM (AP) - Jerusalem's chief Muslim cleric was questioned by Israeli police Tuesday about a newspaper interview in which he was quoted as endorsing suicide bombings.

Ikrima Sabri, 63, was detained at his home and held for three hours at a police compound in Jerusalem before being released without charge.

In an interview afterward, Sabri said he was misquoted.

"That newspaper published words that I never said. From the beginning of the uprising, I have been interviewed by more than 1,000 journalists ... and most of them asked about attacks in Israel. My response was that I had no position toward that."

However, Sabri has often made comments that have outraged Israelis and prompted police to detained him. Incitement to violence is a criminal offense in Israel.

As mufti of Jerusalem, Sabri is influential, often preaching to thousands at the Al Aqsa Mosque, one of Islam's most important religious sites.

Police questioned Sabri about a June 1 interview in the Dubai-based newspaper Al Bayan. The Arabic newspaper quoted him as saying he "did not see any religious prohibition" against suicide bombings.

"On the contrary, it is self-defense and one of the successful types of resistance," he was quoted as saying.

Omar al-Omar, head of Al-Bayan's international section, said the paper accurately quoted Sabri, ascribing Sabri's denial to Israeli pressure.

"What he said is expected, because he was arrested and forced to say that so he can be freed," al-Omar said.

There is no consensus in the Islamic world about whether the religion sanctions suicide bombings. While some prominent clerics have endorsed them, others have rejected such tactics.

Sabri's views are generally in line with the Palestinian Authority, which condemns suicide bombings in Israel, but is vague about attacks on Israeli civilians in the West Bank and Gaza.

Israel argues that the Palestinian leadership bears ultimate responsibility for the attacks and has not made a serious effort to prevent them.

Sabri, appointed to his post in 1994 by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, was detained briefly by Israeli police in September 2001 and questioned about a sermon and a meeting with Lebanese guerrilla leaders.

At the time Sabri described the Palestinian uprising against Israel as a "holy war" and said that suicide bombers and other Muslims killed in the conflict were "martyrs."

"The issue is decided," Sabri said then. "Muslims believe in the Day of Judgment and that dying as a martyr has its reward - going to heaven - and that a martyr is alive in the eyes of God."

In other developments Tuesday, Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said Israeli troops could pull out of the West Bank town of Hebron by the end of the week if the situation there remains calm.

"I hope that around the weekend this will happen, if the conditions are right," Ben-Eliezer told Army Radio.

The United States has been pressing Israel to pull out of at least one of the six West Bank cities it still holds after taking over seven cities in June. It had already pulled out of Bethlehem, but maintains a military presence and often tight curfews on the rest.

Also, Palestinian Planning Minister Nabil Shaath said Arafat would appoint a new Cabinet by the end of the week. Arafat's Cabinet resigned Sept. 11 as the parliament was poised to vote no confidence in his government.

Sharon arrived in Washington on Tuesday and meets with President Bush on Wednesday.