Cynical Israeli timing to ban Islamic Movement

“For years, the northern branch of the Islamic Movement has led a mendacious campaign of incitement under the heading “Al- Aqsa is in danger” that falsely accuses Israel of intending to harm the Al-Aqsa Mosque and violate the status quo”, the government said in an emailed statement, referring to the Jerusalem shrine.

The ad, placed by The World Values Network, where Rabbi Shmuley Boteach serves as executive director, decried Palestinians’ actions against Israelis and went on to blast Kerry for saying that “there’s been a massive increase in [illegal Israeli] settlements over the course of the last years and there’s an increase in the violence because there’s this frustration that’s growing”.

Two Palestinians were killed and three wounded in clashes with Israeli troops early Monday in a Palestinian refugee camp in the Jerusalem area, a Palestinian health official said.

The violence has Israelis on edge, and several politicians have urged licensed gun owners to carry their weapons.

“We will continue to act against those who incite and who encourage terrorism, wherever they are”, Netanyahu said.

“It’s good that they declared the Islamic Movement illegal, but the thought that the entire problem is (the movement’s head) Raed Salah and members of (the Arab) Balad (party) is a huge problem”, said Marzel, who ran with Otzma Yehudit in the last elections and almost entered the Knesset. The soldiers returned fire, hitting one of the gunmen and arresting two others, it said.

Higher Arab Monitoring Committee chair Mohammad Barakeh said that the strike intends to send a message to the Israeli government to revoke the ban on the Islamic Movement’s northern branch.

“The time has come for us to use all the tools at the country’s disposal in the war on terror and against the inciters who cause it”, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan said in a statement.

Salah’s deputy, Kamal Khatib, said the group condemned the Paris attacks and and that Israel was exploiting the timing to “punish” the Islamic Movement. A few European leaders, on the other hand, are doing what they have done all along – blaming Israel and the West for Islamic violence.

Arabs make up roughly 20 per cent of Israel’s population, holding citizenship rights but frequently suffering discrimination in jobs, housing and public services.

A week after the Mourabitat’s ban, on the first day of Rosh Hashanah and for three days thereafter, Israeli forces violently raided the mosque and restricted Muslim access to the site as Israeli Jews toured the compound. The unrest then spread to the West Bank, Israeli cities and the Gaza border.

Violence since October 1 has killed 84 people on the Palestinian side, including one Arab Israeli, as well as 12 Israelis.

Another Israeli Arab lawmaker, Haneen Zoabi, suggested the Netanyahu was capitalizing on worldwide security jitters after Islamist militants killed 129 people in Paris on Friday – charges the government denied.

Interviewed separately by Israel’s Channel 10 TV, both men described the negotiations as serious and said a peace deal was achievable, underscoring just how much the region has changed in only a few years. The site is also revered by Jews as the home of the biblical Jewish temples.