Israeli security forces arrest deputy head of Islamic movement

Israeli police have arrested the deputy head of the banned northern branch of the Islamic Movement, Sheikh Kamal Khatib.

Following his arrest today, Kahtib was taken by security forces to the police station in Qishla in the city of Nazareth according to Arabs 48. Reasons for his arrest have not been disclosed.

Omar Kamaysi, director of the Mizan Human Rights Institute, told Arabs 48 that “Sheikh Kamal Khatib was arrested and taken to the al-Qusla center in Nazareth and is now under investigation.”

He confirmed that the charges against him were security related and that Khatib’s arrest followed his alleged communication with “prohibited parties under Israeli law”. It has not been confirmed whether his detention will be extended.

Arabs 48 reported the son of Khatib, Moaz Khatib, saying that the detention of his father was a formal arrest and not part of an investigation. “This is of course what we expect from this repressive government” he said, “which is trying to suppress the symbols of Islam, as it did with Sheikh Raed Salah Previously.”

“We do not know what they are planning for him” he continued.

Israeli authorities banned the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in November 2015. The decision was denounced as an attempt to supress political dissent. Security authorities escalated their campaign against critics like Salah over the past few years, arresting prominent figures within the organisation including lawyers trying to defend them.

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