Is it permissible for the khatib to raise his hands in supplication between the two sermons of Jumu'ah?

Question:
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh. This questioner says: I saw in one of the countries that when the khatib finishes the first sermon, he sits and raises his hands.

Answer:
Yes. He says: I saw in one of the countries that when the khatib finishes the first sermon, he sits and raises his hands in supplication, and so do the ma'mum (those praying behind him). It is a bid'ah (religious innovation). Raising the hands in supplication between the two sermons is a bid'ah. Yes.