Israel sentences ex-Islamic Movement leader to jail

An Israeli court sentenced the head of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement, Sheikh Raed Salah, to 28 months in prison for “inciting to terror”.

Salah made a series of speeches after a Palestinian attack in 2017 killed two Israeli policemen at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem.

“In light of Sheikh Raed Salah’s previous violations and his clear ideological motives, his activities have worsened with time. Today, as in the past, he uses troubling speech to incite terrorism”, a judge said.

In July 2017, there was a spontaneous Palestinian uprising, which led to protests aiming to pressure Israel to remove cameras and metal detectors at the entrances to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

The restrictive measures had been installed following the attack on the Israeli policemen at the mosque. Salah was arrested in August. He has denounced the charges against him and said the proceedings in the case were “far from the truth”.

Salah is one of the most influential figures among the Palestinian population in Israel as well as in the territories under the Palestinian Authority and Gaza. He founded the Islamic Movement in Israel in 1971.

He headed the northern branch of the Islamic Movement from 1996 until it was banned by the Israeli authorities in 2015. His lawyers said that he does not plan to appeal the decision.