By Andrew Friedman/TPS
Prosecutors in Haifa filed an indictment Thursday against Sheikh Raed Salah, the leader of the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel, on multiple charges of incitement stemming from sermons and speeches Salah gave in support of three Arab citizens of Israel who committed a terrorist attack at the Temple Mount on July 14.
Umm el-Fahm residents Ahmed Mohammed Jabarin, Mohammed Hamed Abed Alatif Jabarin, and Mohamed Ahmed Mafdal Jabarin shot dead two policemen, Camil Shanan and Ha’il Satawi, at the Temple Mount on July 14.The trio were also killed in the incident, which sparked a 10-day standoff between Israel and Islamic authorities in Jerusalem over enhanced security measures at entrances to the Temple Mount.
Waqf (Islamic trust) officials condemned the security measures as a “violation of the status quo” and called on Muslims to boycott the site until the metal detectors and cameras were removed from the site.
Throughout the impasse, Israel refused to release the terrorists’ bodies for burial until July 26, at which point the killers’ were given a heroes’ funeral in Umm el-Fahm, attended by ten thousand local residents. Speaking at the procession, Salah praised the men as “martyrs” and “praiseworthy individuals” and asking God to welcome them into the Garden of Eden.
“Oh martyrs, we will continue your struggle,” Salah was recorded saying at the funeral procession. “With spirit and blood, we will avenge you oh martyrs!”
Salah is also charged with expressing support for the banned Murabitoun, a group of Muslim activists who are paid to sit outside al-Aqsa Mosque to harass Jewish visitors to the Temple Mount.
During a sermon delivered on July 21, at the height of the standoff in Jerusalem, Salah blessed the Murabitioun, particularly 79 activists who Salah said had been wounded in clashes with the “occupation” and called on supporters to “redeem” al-Aqsa.
“Again and again we say: With spirit and blood, we will avenge you Oh Aksa!… we are not afraid of getting hurt or wounded, or of being arrested. We fear no one but Allah, the great God, creator of heaven and earth,” Salah allegedly said.