Jerusalem cops break up Islamic Movement meeting

Police broke up a meeting being held by the banned Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement Thursday morning in an East Jerusalem hotel.

The Palestinian Ma’an news agency reported that during the raid, police threw stun grenades and arrested Abu Bakr Al-Shimi, a well-known figure in the organization.

The gathering, being held in East Jerusalem’s Commodore Hotel, was billed as a press conference under the name of “Our humanity is stronger than their ban.”

The chairman of the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee in Israel, Muhammed Barakeh, who organized the meeting, told Israeli media that the press conference meant to discuss Arab organizations that were outlawed due to Israeli claims of Islamic Movement movement connections.

Footage of the police raid was posted on YouTube.

The Israeli cabinet in November charged the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement with having links to terrorist groups and inciting the recent wave of deadly violence.

It said in a statement that membership or activity within the framework of the group would constitute a “criminal offense punishable by a prison sentence.”

The Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement is headed by firebrand cleric Raed Salah. The organization rejects the Oslo peace accords between Israel and the Palestinians and boycotts national elections on the grounds that they legitimize the Jewish state. Salah was sentenced late last year to 11 months in prison for incitement to violence and racism over an inflammatory sermon he delivered in 2007 in Jerusalem. He has previously served terms for similar offenses.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.