Former lawmaker Mohammad Barakeh was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of inciting terrorism during a 2022 rally, questioned for about four hours and released under restrictive conditions.
Barakeh, who served in the Knesset for the far-left Hadash party from 1999 to 2015, was chairman of the High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel when he spoke in Ramallah in December 2022 at a rally marking 58 years since the founding of Fatah, the main faction within the Palestinian Authority. Police suspect he praised terrorists, compared Israel to the Nazi regime and called for armed struggle against the “occupation.”
Mohammad Barakeh
(Photo: Gil Nechushtan)
During his years in parliament, Barakeh served as a deputy Knesset speaker and chairman of the Knesset committee on drug abuse.
Police said the investigation was opened after the required legal approvals were obtained from prosecutors under the 2016 counterterrorism law.
According to police, the case concerns public remarks made in 2022 by a northern Israel resident who at the time held a public position. Police said the speech included “praise and identification with terrorists and terrorist organizations,” along with calls for a struggle against Israel.
After receiving a court order, police arrested Barakeh and transferred him for questioning. At the end of the interrogation, he was brought before a court, which imposed conditions including a 30-day ban from entering the West Bank, financial guarantees and other commitments.
“Israel Police will continue its determined activity against any expression of incitement, support or identification with terrorism,” police said.
In November 2023, about a month after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, Barakeh was detained along with other senior Arab public figures after attempting to demonstrate in Nazareth against the war. Police said at the time the protest was illegal. Those detained included former lawmakers from Balad, an Arab nationalist party, Haneen Zoabi, Sami Abu Shehadeh and Mtanes Shehadeh.
Hadash strongly condemned Barakeh’s arrest, calling it “political and fascist.”
The party said the arrest was “another failed attempt by [National Security Minister Itamar] Ben-Gvir’s police to persecute and intimidate the Arab public and its leaders.” Hadash said summoning Barakeh for questioning at a police station in a settlement was a deliberate provocation against someone who had "spent decades opposing the occupation and advocating peace, equality and a two-state solution."
Hadash said the case was part of a broader campaign against freedom of expression and the right of Arab citizens to political representation and legitimate democratic struggle.