It accused the movement of “continuous incitement to violence and racism” and said the party has led “a campaign of lies and incitement” by accusing Israel of plotting to take over the Jerusalem holy site at the heart of the current round of violence.
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An “anti-democratic and unjustified” measure, protested Palestinian leaders.
Outlawing the Northern Islamic Movement by the Israeli cabinet is a purely cynical yet risky political decision serving Netanyahu government extremely right-wing agenda and has nothing to do with proclaimed security considerations.
In one case, an Israeli man stabbed a fellow Jew, thinking his victim was an Arab because of his dark skin, and a security guard shot an Eritrean migrant he thought was an attacker during a bus station shooting last month.
Under interim peace agreements, Israeli authorities control cellular networks in the West Bank. In a background briefing released to media, Israeli identified five other directors of the group as alleged agitators.
While the wisdom of the move can be debated, as can the question of whether it was motivated by political opportunism, and whether it will even clear the hurdle of the High Court, there is no disputing the movement’s inflammatory rhetoric – it’s venomous incitement, its championing of the canard that “al-Aksa is in danger” and its outright hostility to the Zionist project. The timing was chosen as the most convenient for Netanyahu when the whole world is concerned with the Paris terrorist attacks and the escalating worldwide war on the ISIS and radical Islamic groups.
Regarding this, the Obama administration has already shown its frustration over Netanyahu promising Israeli voters there wouldn’t be a Palestinian state if he was reelected, and went on the air election day to warn people that massive numbers of Arab voters were coming out to vote. Last month he deployed reservists across Jerusalem and Israel, and erected 14 new checkpoints inside of Palestinian neighborhoods of East Jerusalem.
The Mourabitat’s criminalisation also came conveniently just before the Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Sukkot – peak times of the Temple movement activity at the mosque. Salah’s calls to protect Al-Aqsa resonate with large segments of the public, even those who are not religious, said Shaul Bartal, an expert on Palestinian affairs at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University.
In this Tuesday, November 10, 2015 photo, Palestinians drive near the…
Over the past six weeks Palestinians have killed 15 Israelis in attacks, and Israeli forces and civilians have killed more than 110 Palestinians. Police say these include 48 assailants at the scene of attacks and the rest were killed in violent protests in the occupied West Bank and near the Gaza border.
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In a statement, the government said the movement is affiliated with the regionwide Muslim Brotherhood organization, has ties to the Palestinian militant Hamas group and is committed to Israel’s destruction to make way for a transnational Islamic “caliphate”.
