Head of the Islamic Movement, Sheikh Raed Salah, failed to appear to a police investigation Thursday, following information allegedly indicating extreme right-wing elements may try to assassinate him if he does.
Salah was called in for questioning inassociation with an inciting speech he made in February 2007, in a rally protesting Israel's work at the Mugrabi Gate in Jerusalem, which leads to Temple Mount.
Islamic Movement Spokesman, attorney Zahy Nujeidat, told Ynet that "the information we received indicated that some elements were interested in carrying out the religious decree publishedafter the Jerusalem attack ."
A meeting held Wednesday by the northern faction of the Islamic Movement resulted in a decision to assign Salah with round-the-clock protection.
"As soon as the decree came out, we at the Islamic Movement understood that the figure in question was Sheikh Salah," said Nujeidat. "A prominent figure connected with the al-Aqsa Mosque it can only be the Sheikh."
The movement, he added, received credible information suggesting "they (right extremists) wanted to assassinate him as soon as they could, and apparently they knew he was planning to come to Jerusalem today."
Salah has been heavily guarded for a long period of time, said the spokesman. "Nothing and no one will keep us from protected the al-Aqsa Mosque. We hold the Israeli establishmentresponsible for the wave of incitement sweeping through the country."