Israel Outlaws Domestic Islamic Group as Police Raid Offices
- Government says Israeli Arab movement incited wave of attacks
- Organization's leader says step is `unjust and unacceptable'
The movement’s leader, Sheikh Raed Salah, pictured, a former mayor of the Israeli Arab city of Umm al-Fahm who has in the past been convicted of incitement and moving funds to Hamas, said the movement will continue its campaign to protect the Al-Aqsa mosque 'by all legitimate means.'
Photographer: Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesIsrael outlawed a domestic religious-political group it referred to as the northern branch of the Islamic Movement, accusing it of inciting recent Arab violence by conducting a campaign of agitation over a Jerusalem holy site.
The security cabinet’s decision makes it illegal to belong to or aid the movement, and allows for seizure of its property. Following the overnight decision by a group of senior ministers who deal with security issues, police shut down 17 organizations linked to the movement in Arab communities throughout northern Israel. They seized records from offices of several of them, and froze bank accounts.