An Israeli court in Nazareth ordered the release of Sheikh Kamal Al-Khatib on Sunday under strict conditions. The deputy head of the Islamic movement in Israel has been placed under house arrest, the Times of Israel has reported.
Sheikh Al-Khatib, who is the head of the Freedoms Committee for the Arab community in Israel, has also been ordered to pay a fine of 20,000 shekels ($6,114), is banned from speaking to the media, cannot use the internet and must not deliver a Friday sermon. The conditions have been imposed following two weeks in detention.
Leading #Palestinian figure Sheikh Kamal al-Khatib freed from detention for duration of his trial. Adalah's Hassan Jabareen: #Israel's court confirmed today all our assertions regarding the improper and illegal use of detention in the case of Sheikh Khatib https://t.co/6cnJgRRduS pic.twitter.com/KDGINsie5O
— Adalah (@AdalahEnglish) June 20, 2021
The community leader was arrested by Israeli occupation forces at his home in Kafr Kanna in occupied Palestine on May 14. He was accused of promoting violence during the brutal Israeli offensive against the Gaza Strip in May, when more than 250 Palestinians, including dozens of children and women, were killed, and hundreds of homes and infrastructure were destroyed.
Palestinian citizens in Israel took to the streets during the offensive in solidarity with those being attacked in Gaza. Following the ceasefire, Israel carried out a major detention campaign against Palestinians in Israel for participating in the pro-Gaza action.
(MEMO, PC, Social Media)
