Israel refuses Sheikh Raed Salah’s appeal

Israel’s Central Court in Haifa yesterday turned down Sheikh Raed Salah’s appeal demanding he remain in detention until the end of his trial, Safa reported.

Salah, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, was detained on 15 August from his house in Umm Al-Fahm. On 24 August, he was charged by an Israeli court on a total of six counts, including support for a banned organisation, the Islamic Movement that Israel outlawed in 2015.

The court accused him of inciting “terror and violence” in his religious speeches, including Friday sermons.

According to Safa, the Israeli court wrote in its reply to Salah’s defence team: “After studying the case, it decided not to interfere in the ruling of the Magistrate’s Court and to leave Sheikh Raed Salah in remand detention until the end of his trial.”

Read: Raed Salah alleges torture in Israeli prison

The court also supported the claims of the Israeli Public Prosecution and the Magistrate’s Court against Sheikh Salah.

“Some of the accusations against Sheikh Raed have proofs related to inciting violence and terror,” the court wrote, adding: “One of the proofs is that Salah said the Islamic Movement would continue and he signed a statement [with his name].”

The Israeli court said that the statement he signed included “expressions of praise, sympathy or encouragement for an act of terrorism” on various occasions.

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Al Jazeera has said that his alleged statements were made against “a special security background” in the wake of a 14 July shootout in which three Palestinian citizens of Israel from Salah’s hometown of Umm Al-Fahm were killed in addition to two policemen at Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Commenting on the court’s ruling, lawyer Mustafa Sihail from Salah’s defence team said: “As usual, we feel disappointed with this decision. It seems that the judiciary has little role in cases Israel classifies as security cases.”