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Israel extends detention of Raed Salah

September 6, 2017 at 8:55 pm

Leader of the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel, Sheikh Raed Salah (2nd L) appears in court after he was taken under custody on the grounds that he allegedly provoked and supported an illegal association, in Rishon Lezion, Israel on 14 August , 2017 [Stringer/Anadolu Agency]

A magistrates’ court in Haifa today ruled to extend the detention of Sheikh Raed Salah, head of the Islamic Movement in Israel, “until the end of legal proceedings against him”.

The decision comes after the prosecution filed an indictment against Salah, accusing him of inciting violence and terrorism in a statement he after two Israeli occupation soldier were killed in Jerusalem on 14 July.

Last week the court agreed to extend Salah’s detention until today, noting that he had told the judge that he “sleeps and prays and eats in the prison’s toilet and bathroom”. The judge had requested the prosecution and the prison authority respond to his statements today.

Salah was arrested on 14 August after his house in Umm Al-Fahm was raided. He was charged with “inciting violence and terrorism”. The Magistrates’ Court extended his detention several times.

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Spokesperson for the Waed Association for Prisoners’ Affairs, Abdullah Qandeel, warned that Salah’s detention was a first step towards his elimination and execution in prison.

In a statement to Quds Press today, Qandeel said the largescale demonstrations at Al-Aqsa Mosque proved that Salah moved millions of Muslims in to action, forcing the occupation to reverse its actions and remove the barriers it had setup at the mosque.

Qandeel described the trial as “unjust” and declared that the “occupation is doomed to collapse. Sheikh Raed Salah’s arrest is an accolade and an honourable title of his defence of Al-Aqsa Mosque. Sheikh Salah will triumph over the occupation’s might and strength.”