[IsraelTimes] Sheikh Yusuf Albaz charged over a Facebook post and comments supportive of riots; he is currently on trial for similar remarks made a year agoProsecutors filed two indictments on Friday morning against Sheikh Yusuf Albaz,
| ...a holy man at Lod’s Great Mosque and a big turban with the Northern Branch of the so-called Islamic Movement, the militant arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in Israel. They go in for rabble rousing, riots and harassing Jews on the Temple Mount via their Israeli Arab Mourabitoun cadres, funding Hamas, and social services in Arab villages in the Galilee. It’s estimated 10% of Arab Israelis are associated in one way or another with either the militant Northern Branch or the political Southern Branch and its Ra’am Party. As a result of his part in these activities, Sheikh Albaz is a frequent flyer in Israeli prison... |
The Cyber Department of the State Attorney’s Office filed the charges due to Albaz’s public support for rioters who attacked police on the Temple Mount during Ramadan.
Albaz was arrested in April and questioned by police over his positions and "the publication of content... that is suspected of inciting against the security forces, and support for
The first indictment relates to a post Albaz published on his Facebook account in which he hailed the "young, the brave, the fortified, the people of freedom" who took part in the riots.
"This is the jihadist honor slate, which has crushed the Israeli occupation with blood and prevented it from dividing the al-Aqsa Mosque," he added, hailing rioters as "heroes."
The second indictment related to a speech Albaz made at a conference next to the Great Mosque in Lod, where he allegedly praised the rioters.
"These young people who put on masks and defend the blessed al-Aqsa Mosque with their bare bodies and a few stones, some iron and wood in the face of an Israeli war machine... We should kiss their heads and legs, otherwise, Israel would have emptied the al-Aqsa Mosque long ago," the indictment quotes Albaz as saying.
Prosecutors are requesting that Albaz be detained until the end of the legal process, citing the "real and substantial" damage caused by his statements.
"These are provocative statements made by an individual with great influence on a wide range of people, against the backdrop of the tense period we are in, reflected by terrorist attacks across the country during which 19 Israelis have been killed, and serious riots have occurred," the indictment read.
Albaz is no stranger to charges of incitement. Another trial is being held against him in the Ramle Magistrate’s Court over statements the imam made during Operation Guardian of the Walls in 2021.
In one of his posts at the time, Albaz shared a clip from the Australian movie "Wolf Creek" which shows the murder of two coppers, with the caption, "the best way to deal with injustice."
In another post, Albaz allegedly threatened Lod’s deputy mayor, Yossi Harush. "I suggest that you stop your bullies because your provocation will take us back [to the riots] and you will pay the price for these actions," Albaz allegedly wrote. "And as for the war you are threatening us with, Yossi Harush, we promise you that we will easily give up our souls in order to teach you to stop your bullying."