Israel seeks to extend isolation of Palestinian icon Raed Salah

The Israeli Public Prosecution has requested an extension of the solitary confinement for Palestinian icon Sheikh Raed Salah for another six months, according to his lawyer on Monday.

The central court of Beersheba in southern Israel will look into the request later on Monday, Khaled Zabarqa told Anadolu Agency.

"Salah has been held in solitary confinement for a year now and the Public Prosecution is seeking to extend it for another six months," Zabarqa said.

Salah, the leader of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel, was detained in August 2017 and indicted for incitement over his criticism of the erection of metal detectors at Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

He was sentenced to 28 months in prison by an Israeli court. He served 11 months in jail, half of which was in solitary confinement before he was moved to house arrest.

After two years under house arrest, in August 2020, Salah began a 17-month jail term on incitement charges.

Since 2015, Israel has prohibited Salah from travelling outside the country for reasons ostensibly related to "national security".

The Islamic Movement in Israel, which Salah founded in 1971, has been outlawed by the Israeli authorities since 2015. In recent years, the same authorities have repeatedly arrested Salah and shut down dozens of organizations, including a number of charities, over their alleged links to his group.