JERUSALEM

An Israeli court on Tuesday approved a request to postpone the jailing of Sheikh Raed Salah, head of the Islamic Movement, due to the spread of coronavirus, according to his lawyer.

"The Israeli Central Court in Haifa accepted our request to delay Salah's prison sentence amid the coronavirus outbreak and emerging news in Israeli media about the spread of the virus in prisons," Khaled Zabarqa told Anadolu Agency.

On Monday, Israel's Public Prosecution rejected a request by Salah's defense team to postpone his prison sentence.

Salah was scheduled to begin a 17-month prison sentence on Wednesday over incitement charges.

In August 2017, Salah was detained and faced several charges, including incitement, and spent 11 months in prison before he was released to house arrest.

In February, an Israeli court sentenced him to 28 months in prison and he is due to be jailed for the remaining 17 months.

*Bassel Ibrahim contributed to this report from Ankara