Israel to sentence Sheikh Raed Salah in March

Haifa Magistrate’s Court set 22 March as the date to sentence Sheikh Raed Salah, the head of the Islamic Movement in Israel, the Anadolu Agency reported.

Lawyer Omar Khamayseh told the news site: “Sheikh Raed Salah was brought to the magistrate’s court in Haifa from his prison in Ashkelon. He was prevented from speaking to the media which attended to cover the hearing. He was only allowed to shake hands with his elderly mother and some other relatives.”

“During today’s [Sunday] hearing, the witnesses of the Public Prosecution, who were police officers, were brought to court. They exposed clips including speeches that they described provocative. The court decided 22 March as the next hearing during which it is going to announce its ruling.”

Israel Police arrested Sheikh Salah from his house in Umm Al-Fahm in August last year and issued an indictment against him that included 12 charges.

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

He is accused of working against the state; Israeli authorities banned the Islamic Movement in November 2015.

Israeli authorities released Sheikh Salah on January 2016 after he had spent nine months in prison. He was banned from travelling and was not allowed to enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. He maintains that he has not violated any laws and his organisation operated legally.