Israel charges Raed Salah with incitement to 'terrorism'

Raed Salah, head of the outlawed northern branch of the Palestinian Islamic Movement, was arrested earlier this month.

The indictment, issued on Thursday, says Salah praised the men who carried out an attack in July and exhorted others to follow their example.

The attack, carried out by two Palestinian citizens of Israel, sparked deadly violence between Israeli forces and Palestinians soon after.

Salah has had repeated run-ins with Israeli authorities. He completed a nine month prison sentence in January for “incitement to violence” and “incitement to racism.”

However, Salah says the arrests are part of a "political witch hunt" against him.

His lawyers and supporters said his sermons are always within the bounds of free speech and that he "stands against the murder of innocents". They have called the 58-year-old preacher's arrest political intimidation and say it was intended to silence dissent.

Salah also said that he had been threatened by Jewish prisoners in court. 

"If something happens, my blood is going to be on (Prime Minister Binyamin) Netanyahu's hands," he said.

His group, the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Islamic Movement's northern branch, was banned by Israel in 2015 for incitement linked to the Haram al-Sharif – which includes the revered al-Aqsa mosque and the golden-topped Dome of the Rock – charges denied by Salah.