Top Islamist leader speaks out
Following his release from Israeli prison, Sheikh Raad Salah tells press conference he will continue activities in Islamist Movement
UMM AL-FAHM - "A performance," is how top Islamist leader Sheikh Raad Salah described his release Sunday, after serving more than two years in an Israeli prison.
The Sheikh has been flooded with telephone calls and visitors from around the country congratulating him on his release, since the return to his Arab-Israeli hometown of Umm al-Fahm.
In addition, both local and international media have taken an interest in Salah's return, and his press conference was even broadcast live on the Arab al Jazeera television network.
Security forces arrested Salah, the head of the northern branch of the Islamist Movement and former mayor of Umm al-Fahm, in May 2003 on charges that he held contacts with an Iranian intelligence agent.
He was also accused of incitement against the Jewish state and transferring funds to the terrorist group Hamas.
Refused a call
Salah told the press gathered at his northern hometown that he had just finished morning prayers when the door to his cell opened and senior prison guards told him “get dressed quickly, gather your belongings, you are leaving.”
“Before I left I was given a letter instructing me to stay in Umm al-Fahm until Monday morning,” he said. “I refused to sign it. However, in spite of this I was released.”
He said a senior Prison Services official accompanied him in the car that brought him home.
“I asked her how she expects my elderly mother to suddenly see me arrive home this morning, and I asked to telephone them to let them know I was on my way,” he said.
However, Salah said he was only allowed to call the moment he entered Umm al-Fahm, an offer he chose to decline.
“I don’t understand why they released me this way,” he said. “Did they want to prevent my mother from organizing a big feast with my wife, children and close relatives? Were they planning to return me the way they took me more than two years ago, in the dark?”
Vows to continue action
Salah said he is forbidden to enter Jerusalem during the next four months without the authorization of the police district commander.
He said the al-Aqsa mosque is in danger due to radical Jewish organizations and tunnels, which he said Israel is currently digging under the mosque.
Salah also announced his intentions to continue his activities in the Islamic Movement, as he had done prior to his arrest.
“The situation in the Islamic Movement is like it was before I went to prison,” he said. “There were projects and institutions - it has continuity in its activities with the Palestinian nation and it will continue like this for the good of the Arab world."
