Netanyahu: Sheikh Raed Salah should be in jail

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused Sheikh Raed Salah, head of the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement, of “fuelling tension” at Al-Aqsa Mosque during the Jewish holidays, Safa news agency reported.

“We are aware of attempts by Salah to fuel the tensions at the Temple Mount compound, the Jewish nomination of Al-Aqsa Mosque, ahead of Passover,” Netanyahu said during the weekly cabinet meeting.

“He is a one-man dynamite,” he added. “I ask that that security officials and the justice minister take action to distance him. He should be in jail already.”

Netanyahu has accused Salah of causing tension in Jerusalem and at Al-Aqsa Mosque several times due to his active role in challenging Israel’s Judaisation of Jerusalem.

In November last year, the Israeli government banned Salah’s Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement, closing its offices and affiliated charities following accusations of incitement and encouraging violence against Israeli policies in Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Alongside his position as leader of the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement, Salah headed Al-Aqsa Foundation for the Construction of Islamic Holy Sites until 2002 and chaired Islamic Relief, a charity based in Israel.

He was arrested in 2003 over accusations of money laundering for Hamas and released in 2005. He has been arrested several times for short periods and banned from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque several times for numerous periods.

In 2010, when Israel attacked the Turkish aid convoy, Israel falsely announced his death due to an apparent case of mistaken identity.