Bill would outlaw Islamic Movement branch

Yisrael Beytenu MK Miller's initiative seeks to have the Islamic Movement's Northern Branch declared an unlawful association.

By LAHAV HARKOV
Sheikh Raed Salah (C), head of the Islamic Movement in northern Israel. (photo credit: REUTERS)
Sheikh Raed Salah (C), head of the Islamic Movement in northern Israel.
(photo credit: REUTERS)
The Islamic Movement’s northern branch could be outlawed if the Ministerial Committee for Legislation approves a bill by MK Alex Miller Sunday.
Miller’s initiative seeks to have the Islamic Movement’s northern branch declared an unlawful association.
An unlawful association is any group of people who incite or encourage, through their charter or propaganda, violence against Israel or its government, genocide, or acts of terrorism.
Some current unlawful associations include Fatah, Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad and Islamic State.
The northern branch of the Islamic Movement is led by Raed Salah, who was convicted of funding Hamas, contacting an Iranian agent, assaulting a police officer and leading a violent protest.
“This bill will outlaw the Islamic Movement’s northern branch and bring its activities, which sow death and destruction, to an end,” Miller (Yisrael Beytenu) said.
The draft bill’s explanatory section reads: “The northern branch of the Islamic Movement openly undermines the State of Israel’s sovereignty through cynical use of its [Israel’s] institutions and basic values as a Jewish and democratic state.”
It states that the northern branch’s activities lead to outbursts of violence by Arabs and that it maintains close ties to Hamas.