This came in a joint statement issued Monday by Adalah and Mezan, both human rights organizations based in the Palestinian territories, the term used to describe Arab areas within Israel.
The statement said: "The Nazareth Magistrate's Court issued a ruling on Monday convicting Sheikh Kamal al-Khatib based on the indictment submitted by the Public Prosecution, which was based on two Facebook posts and a sermon he delivered during an event organized by the Higher Follow-Up Committee in the context of the May 2021 uprising."
In May 2021, Arab cities and towns inside Palestine witnessed violent confrontations between citizens on the one hand and the police and right-wing Israelis on the other, coinciding with the Israeli aggression on the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the Gaza Strip.
The statement added: "The court deemed the content of the publications and sermon to constitute support for terrorist organizations and incitement to violence, despite the defense team's assertion that what was contained therein fell within the scope of legitimate political and religious discourse guaranteed by the constitution."
He continued: "The court rejected the arguments presented by the defense team, even though it emphasized in several places that expressing political positions, particularly regarding the attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque, does not in any way rise to the level of a criminal offense."
The two centers emphasized that "the conviction decision came despite the presentation of a series of expert testimonies that supported the defense's position, (...) all of which confirmed that Sheikh Kamal's statements were within the framework of a project and reflected a common discourse among Palestinian society inside the country."
The statement noted that the trial sessions "extended for more than four years and witnessed lengthy pleadings from the defense team, who asserted that the indictment is politically and legally invalid, and that it is based on a selective and biased interpretation of the sheikh's statements." It noted that the defense team emphasized that "the trial comes within a broader context of political targeting of Palestinian leaders inside the occupied territories, especially in the wake of the Dignity Intifada (May 2021)."
He described the conviction of Sheikh Kamal al-Khatib as "a dangerous legal legitimization of political persecution and an escalation in the use of the judiciary as a tool to criminalize Palestinian national and religious discourse." He went on to criticize the decision, saying it "is not based on any sound legal principle, but rather on a biased political interpretation aimed at silencing and intimidating leaders."
The statement considered the conviction "a violation of the right to protest and the right of Palestinian society inside Israel to express its issues and concerns without fear of criminal prosecution."
According to the court's charges, Sheikh al-Khatib published the first post on Facebook on April 19, 2021, in the context of police attacks on prominent figures in the city of Jaffa.
The post, according to the charges, included a condemnation of the systematic violence perpetrated by police against activists and highlighted attacks targeting local leaders.
The second post, published on Facebook on April 25, 2021, contained a historical and political analysis in which the sheikh warned that escalating incitement, systematic violations against Palestinians, and repeated raids on Al-Aqsa Mosque could create a climate reminiscent of the 1929 Buraq Revolution, which resulted in casualties among Arabs and Jews as a result of tensions fueled by extremist groups.
In his post, the sheikh held the Israeli establishment responsible for creating the conditions for a recurrence of this violent scenario, warning of the disastrous consequences of such a course of action.
The indictment also included a sermon delivered by Sheikh al-Khatib during an event organized by the Higher Follow-Up Committee on May 11, 2021, in which he greeted the crowds of worshippers who had flocked to Al-Aqsa Mosque to perform I'tikaf (seclusion) and pray, in an attempt to protect it from police and settler incursions, and praised their efforts and stances.
