Israeli police seek to prosecute Shaikh Raed Salah on incitement charges

The Israeli police recommended yesterday that the leader of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement within Israel, Shaikh Raed Salah, should be charged with “incitement”. The move came just days before he is due to be released from Ramon Prison where he has been serving a nine-month sentence on a charge of “incitement to commit violence”. This related to a sermon that he gave in occupied East Jerusalem in 2007 shortly after the Israelis destroyed the historic Bab El-Magharbeh Bridge leading to the Noble Sanctuary of Al-Aqsa.

A police statement said that officers have finished their investigations and transferred the new file to the Prosecutor General. The case will include the charge of “activity in an outlawed organisation” as well as “incitement”.

According to the police, the new charges against Shaikh Salah are based on various statements that he made following the proscription of his movement by the Israeli government in November 2015. Officers have also examined statements that the well-respected civil and human rights activist and community leader made regarding the movement, his role and other issues at the core of its worldview.