Israel imposes travel ban on Sheikh Raed Salah

Israel has imposed a travel ban on Sheikh Raed Salah, the leader of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel, his lawyer Khaled Zabarqa said yesterday.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Zabarqa said that the decision was taken by Israeli Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked and that the one-month ban can be extended to up to six months.

“This is an arbitrary and illegal decision and is part of the political persecution by the Israeli authorities against Sheikh Raed Salah,” Zabarqa said.

Commenting on the ban, Sheikh Salah said: “This decision is based on the notorious emergency rules which were created by the British Mandate of Palestine. It embodies the religious and political persecution to undermine my activities aimed at spreading peace.”

He added that “this warning came following my visit to Al-Aqsa Mosque and preaching peace, tolerance and forgiveness.”

The Islamic Movement in Israel, which Salah founded in 1971, was banned by Israel in 2015.

READ: Sheikh Raed Salah tries to end conflict between Palestinian families

In recent years, Salah has been detained repeatedly and occupation forces have closed dozens of organisations, including a number of charities, over their alleged links to the group.

Salah was detained by Israeli forces in August 2017 and indicted for incitement following his criticism of the erection of metal detectors at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

He was sentenced to 28 months in prison by an Israeli court. He served 11 months, half of which was spent in solitary confinement, before he was moved to house arrest.

After two years under house arrest, in August 2020, Salah began a 17-month jail term on incitement charges.

He was released in December and visited Al-Aqsa Mosque for the first time in 15 years last week after an Israeli ban on his entry expired.