Israel arrests lawyer of jailed resistance icon Saleh

By Abdel Raouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) - Israeli police on Monday detained a lawyer for Raed Saleh, the leader of the Islamic Movement in Israel who was himself arrested earlier this year, according an Arab member of the Knesset (Israel’s parliament).

“Police arrested lawyer Khaled Zabarqah after raiding his home in the [Israeli] city of Lod at dawn,” Arab Knesset member Taleb Abu Arar said in a statement.

Saleh’s Islamic Movement is banned by the Israeli authorities, who in recent years have repeatedly arrested Saleh and shut down dozens of organizations -- including charities -- over alleged links to his group.

Saleh has remained in detention since his arrest on Aug. 15.

Abu Arar said the lawyer’s arrest was "a serious escalation”, describing it as “part of a worrying new trend of arresting those who defend our [i.e., Palestinian] political prisoners”.

In a separate statement, Juma Azbarga, a lawmaker for the Knesset’s Joint Arab List, also said Zabarqah had been arrested, along with Iyad Misk, an official at the Palestinian Commission for Prisoners’ Affairs, and Firas Sabbagh, head of the Al-Meethaq Foundation for Human Rights.

“Israel does not shy away from arresting and prosecuting rights activists,” Azbarga said. “It wants to cover up its ongoing crimes and ethnic cleansing in Jerusalem… and silence all voices that reject its policies."

The Israeli authorities, for their part, have yet to issue any statements on Monday’s reported arrests.