![Leader of the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel, Sheikh Raed Salah addresses to the crowd during his welcoming ceremony, after he was released from Israeli prison, in Umm al-Fahm, Israel on 17 January, 2017 [Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/20170117_2_21345246_18053420.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
The head of the Islamic Movement’s Northern Branch in Israel, Sheikh Raed Salah, yesterday warned of calls by Jewish extremists to storm Al- Aqsa Mosque in the coming days to perform Talmudic rituals in its yards.
Sheikh Salah called on Palestinians in Jerusalem and inside Israel to defend Al-Aqsa and resume worship in it to counter the extremists’ calls.
“The Israeli occupation has no legitimacy in Al-Aqsa Mosque, despite its false attempts to strip Palestinian and Islamic sovereignty over the mosque as a prelude to build the alleged temple.”
Last week, the Haifa District Court rejected an appeal filed by Sheikh Raed Salah against the 28-month prison sentence issued against him on charges of “incitement to violence” and joining a banned group in reference to the Islamic Movement’s Northern Branch.
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