Israel arrests Shaikh Raed Salah’s lawyer

Israel has arrested the lawyer who acts for the head of the Islamic Movement in the Zionist state, Shaikh Raed Salah, Anadolu has reported. Khalid Zabarqeh was arrested by police on Monday. No reason for the move was provided by the authorities.

Taleb Abu Arar MK said in a press release that police officers raided the lawyer’s house in Al-Lod. He described this as a “dangerous escalation in relation to political arrests” and pointed out that “arresting lawyers who defend our political prisoners is a new Israeli trend.” The member of the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, called for the Israeli police to release Zabarqeh “immediately”.

According to Jomaa Zabarqeh MK, the Israeli police have arrested several lawyers and activists working for organisations which defend Al-Aqsa Mosque. He said that aside from arresting his namesake Khalid Zabarqeh, they have also detained the Director of the legal department of the Prisoners’ and Freed Prisoners’ Committee, Iyad Misk, and the Director of Al-Dameer Organisation for Human Rights, Firas Al-Sabbagh after raiding their respective homes.

“Israel does not care about arresting rights activists,” added the MK, “because it wants to hide its continuous crimes represented in Judaisation efforts, ethnic cleansing in Jerusalem and attempting to divide Al-Aqsa Mosque.” The parliamentarian said that Israel wants to “silence any voice that opposes its policies.”

Shaikh Raed Salah, whose movement was banned in 2015, has been held in an Israeli jail since 15 August.

Read: Shaikh Raed Salah stands between Israel and Al-Aqsa Mosque, so he is kept in custody