15,000 Palestinians protest Israeli ban on political group

There were about 15,000 demonstrators at the rally in the northern town of Umm Al Fahem, what was one of the largest Palestinian rallies in Israel in recent years.

Protesters wave Palestinian flags during the demonstration in Umm Al Fahm on November 28, 2015. Ahmad Gharabli/AFP Photo

UMM Al FAHEM, Israel // About 15,000 Palestinians protested on Saturday against the outlawing of a popular political group by Israel.

The Israeli government banned the Islamic Movement’s northern branch on November 17, risking an angry backlash by the Jewish state’s largely quiescent 20 per cent Palestinian minority.

The protest, which took place in the northern Palestinian town of Umm Al Fahem,was one of the largest Palestinian rallies in Israel in recent years.

The Islamic Movement’s northern branch does not, unlike its southern counterpart, recognise Israel’s legitimacy. It runs its own educational and religious services and has been at the forefront of protests against government policy towards Palestinians.

The group says its activities are lawful.

But Israel says the movement has encouraged Palestinian assaults on Israelis by falsely accusing the government of trying to erode Muslim control of Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa mosque complex, Islam’s third holiest site which is also sacred in Judaism.

In the latest wave of violence, at least 101 Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of last month, according to the Palestinian Maan news agency. Nineteen Israelis have been killed in the same period.

Protesters marched through the town’s streets holding up Islamic Movement and Palestinian national flags and chanting: “With our spirit and blood we shall redeem you, Al Aqsa.”

* Reuters