lennart
14-03-04, 16:31
Thousands rally for jailed Islamic leader
By Yoav Stern and Uri Ash, Haaretz Correspondents
Some 3,000 supporters of the northern front of the Israeli Arab Islamic Movement demonstrated Sunday morning opposite the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, demanding the release of jailed movement leader Sheikh Raed Salah.
In a separate protest on the Golan Heights, more than 1,000 residents of Golan Druze villages demonstrated in the village of Masadeh to protest the Israel Lands Authority's plans to confiscate some 350 dunams (90 acres) of land in the village.
Salah has been in police custody for 10 months, charged with harming state security and conspiracy to commit a crime. Sheikh Hashem Abed Rahman opened the Islamic Movement protest Sunday by calling for the release of Salah and four others, saying that they are "leaders of a legitimate political movement who acted within the framework of the law."
The original term of the arrest of the five is to expire on March 23.
Addressing his plea to President Moshe Katsav and Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin, Abed Rahman said that rather than being put on trial, the five should be awarded prizes in recognition of their philanthropic endeavors.
Abed Rahman further accused Israel of responsibility for 15,000 youths and children who he said were orphaned by the occupation. "Sheikh Raed acted only for their sake," he said.
Dr. Assad Ranem of Haifa University told the demonstrators that the arrests were a declaration of war against the Israeli Arab public. "The government of Israel wants to break the leader of those who oppose its path. This is a battle of endurance and patience."
MK Talab a-Sana (United Arab List) said that the government's prosecution of Salah was political in nature. In a jab at Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, a-Sana said, "Sheikh Raed did not receive bribery from Cyril Kern and is not accused of a crime. He simply acted on behalf of civil equality." South African businessman Kern, an old friend of Sharon's, has been linked to suspicions of financial irregularies allegedly tied to Sharon and his sons.
Druze: The village land is Syrian
In the Golan demonstration, one of the largest such protests in recent years, speakers declared that the land slated for confiscation was Syrian territory captured in the 1967 war, and thus the ILA had no right to claim it.
"We have taken a final decision that all the residents of the village will sacrifice themselves for this land, and that no one can take it from us," said Tewfik Sfedi, one of the leaders of the Druze Waqf, or religious trust, in Masadeh.
The residents said they had plans to build 300 housing units on the land in question. Villagers said that a court - whose authority they do not recognize - has ruled that the Druze Waqf was not a recognized institution. The court then transferred ownership of the land to the ILA.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=404503&contrassID=1&subContrassID=7&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y
By Yoav Stern and Uri Ash, Haaretz Correspondents
Some 3,000 supporters of the northern front of the Israeli Arab Islamic Movement demonstrated Sunday morning opposite the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, demanding the release of jailed movement leader Sheikh Raed Salah.
In a separate protest on the Golan Heights, more than 1,000 residents of Golan Druze villages demonstrated in the village of Masadeh to protest the Israel Lands Authority's plans to confiscate some 350 dunams (90 acres) of land in the village.
Salah has been in police custody for 10 months, charged with harming state security and conspiracy to commit a crime. Sheikh Hashem Abed Rahman opened the Islamic Movement protest Sunday by calling for the release of Salah and four others, saying that they are "leaders of a legitimate political movement who acted within the framework of the law."
The original term of the arrest of the five is to expire on March 23.
Addressing his plea to President Moshe Katsav and Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin, Abed Rahman said that rather than being put on trial, the five should be awarded prizes in recognition of their philanthropic endeavors.
Abed Rahman further accused Israel of responsibility for 15,000 youths and children who he said were orphaned by the occupation. "Sheikh Raed acted only for their sake," he said.
Dr. Assad Ranem of Haifa University told the demonstrators that the arrests were a declaration of war against the Israeli Arab public. "The government of Israel wants to break the leader of those who oppose its path. This is a battle of endurance and patience."
MK Talab a-Sana (United Arab List) said that the government's prosecution of Salah was political in nature. In a jab at Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, a-Sana said, "Sheikh Raed did not receive bribery from Cyril Kern and is not accused of a crime. He simply acted on behalf of civil equality." South African businessman Kern, an old friend of Sharon's, has been linked to suspicions of financial irregularies allegedly tied to Sharon and his sons.
Druze: The village land is Syrian
In the Golan demonstration, one of the largest such protests in recent years, speakers declared that the land slated for confiscation was Syrian territory captured in the 1967 war, and thus the ILA had no right to claim it.
"We have taken a final decision that all the residents of the village will sacrifice themselves for this land, and that no one can take it from us," said Tewfik Sfedi, one of the leaders of the Druze Waqf, or religious trust, in Masadeh.
The residents said they had plans to build 300 housing units on the land in question. Villagers said that a court - whose authority they do not recognize - has ruled that the Druze Waqf was not a recognized institution. The court then transferred ownership of the land to the ILA.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=404503&contrassID=1&subContrassID=7&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y