Thousands attend Islamic Movement rally in Umm al-Fahm
Faris Jawad
By Yair Ettinger and Daniel Sobelman, Haaretz Correspondents
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/303409.html
Ha'aretz- Jun3 13, 2003
Tens of thousands people gathered Friday evening at
Umm al-Fahm football satdium, to attend a mass
demonstration called by the Islamic Movement
northern branch. The organizers said they were
expecting 100,000 people from across the Arab
sector to attend.
The demonstration takes place exactly one month after the arrests of 15 of
the movement's senior leadership, including the head of the movement, Sheikh
Ra'ad Salah.
The Supreme Arab Monitoring Committee was set to take part in the event,
along with activists from secular Arab political parties and Christian and
Muslim religious leaders.
The organizers said the theme of the demonstration, which was advertised
throughout the Arab media, is that the "Arab public is in danger."
Israel Police has announced that its main contribution was to be to position
forces at the entrance to the town, and direct traffic toward the stadium.
Last Sunday, Tel Aviv District Court extended by 12 days the remands of five
senior members of the organization, as some 200 supporters demonstrated
outside the courthouse ahead of the hearing.
The five - including Salah and Dr. Sulieman Agbariya, mayor of Umm al-Fahm -
were allegedly involved in transferring foreign funds through Israel to
Hamas knowing that the money would be used to help the
Islamic group's terrorist activity.
Tensions between the Arab sector and the police have been high since riots
in the north in October 2000, at the start of the intifada, resulted in the
deaths of 13 Israeli Arabs.
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