Far from his home, and within restrictions that include preventing him from praying in mosques, or speaking to the media, Sheikh Kamal Al-Khatib is serving a sentence imposed on him by the Israeli occupation authorities.

Sheikh Khatib is the head of the Freedoms Committee emanating from the Higher Follow-up Committee for the Arabs in the occupied Palestinian interior;

Moaz, the son of Sheikh al-Khatib, told Anadolu Agency that the sanctions imposed on his father are “an attempt to muzzle and keep him away from the arena of influence.”

Since the release of Sheikh Al-Khatib on Sunday, he has not stopped receiving well-wishers from Arab citizens inside the Palestinian territories.

Last month, the Israeli police arrested Sheikh Al-Khatib from his home in Kafr Kanna (north).

Subsequently, the Israeli prosecutor charged him with incitement and membership in the Islamic movement, which is prohibited by Israel, accusations denied by Sheikh Khatib and his defense staff.

His son Moaz adds, “My father was released, after a repeated extension of his detention, on the condition that he be removed from his village, Kafr Kanna for 45 days, and from meeting more than 15 people, and prevented him from praying in mosques or delivering Friday sermons, and prevented him from speaking to the media or using social media. social.”

“All these measures are aimed at silencing the mouths,” he added.

Sheikh Khatib now resides in the village of Al-Aziz, near Kafr Kanna, and is not subject to house arrest, according to his son, Moaz.

Sheikh Al-Khatib was arrested at the height of protests that erupted inside the Palestinian territories, in response to the Israeli attacks in Jerusalem and the Israeli aggression on Gaza last May.

The Israeli police arrested more than 2,500 Palestinians in connection with those protests, in a campaign that Arab leaders inside the Palestinian territories have criticized.

His lawyer, Omar Khamaiseh, considered that what is happening in the file of Sheikh Kamal Khatib is “another series in the series of political pursuits of leaders inside the Palestinian territories, especially those who were in the Islamic movement that was banned by Israel in 2015.”

In this regard, Lawyer Khamaiseh referred to Israel’s pursuit of Sheikh Raed Salah (the head of the banned Islamic movement), and his arrest, where he is now serving a prison sentence.

He also indicated in his interview with Anadolu Agency that the Israeli authorities are pursuing other leaders, and have closed more than 30 institutions that were affiliated with the Islamic Movement.

He added, “These prosecutions are evidence that the Israeli authorities do not want this voice, which is about moderate Islam, to emerge.”

Lawyer Khamaiseh indicated that the restrictions against Sheikh Al-Khatib continue for a period of 3 months, according to the decision of the Israeli Central Court in Nazareth (north), with the exception of the 45-day deportation from the village of Kafr Kanna.

He stated that the Israeli District Court in Nazareth will convene on the fourth of next July, to hear the response of Sheikh Al-Khatib’s defense team to the indictment submitted against him.

However, the Central Court judge had indicated that there is no evidence that the prosecution accused Sheikh Khatib of identifying with Hamas, and there is no evidence that he actually practiced incitement.

Lawyer Khamaiseh added, “The charges against the sheikh started very serious, and now they are not serious.”

He continued, “I think that the trial will take time, but we hope that the restrictions imposed on Sheikh Al-Khatib will not last for long.”

In turn, Attorney Hassan Jabarin, Adalah Director-General and head of Sheikh Al-Khatib’s defense said, “Despite the attempts by the Shin Bet (Israel’s General Security Service) to put Sheikh Kamal Al-Khatib behind bars at any cost, we see the decision to release him as an important achievement against politics ( Shabakia) racism.”

The Shin Bet is the security agency responsible for internal intelligence in Israel.

Lawyer Jabarin added in a written statement, a copy of which was sent to Anadolu Agency, “Despite our strong reservations about the restrictions approved by the Central Court, the court has approved a large part of our claims that we have made in the appeal against extending the illegal and unlawful detention.”

He pointed out that the indictment filed against Sheikh Kamal Khatib is based on “three publications with a legitimate religious content, and not related to the criminal field from near or far.”

Jabarin concludes his speech by saying, “This is a political prosecution that does not depend on any actual or legal evidence in an attempt to try the Arab and Palestinian narratives regarding Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa Mosque and Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.”