JERUSALEM 

An Israeli court on Monday sentenced Palestinian resistance icon Sheikh Raed Salah to 28 months in prison.

Salah has already served 11 months in prison.

Dozens of Palestinians organized a stand in solidarity with Salah before the Israeli court in the northern city of Haifa issued the sentence.

In an exclusive interview with Anadolu Agency, Khaled Zabarqa, Salah's lawyer, said that Israel’s endless bids to silence Sheikh Raed Salah were meant to pave the way for announcing the controversial peace plan in the Middle East.

He added that "the charges against Sheikh Salah were related to Friday preaching and articles he wrote in July 2017, in solidarity with Palestinians protesting in front of the gates of the Al-Aqsa Mosque."

Zabarqa pointed out that the Sheikh's response to these charges was that "what came in the speeches is based on Islamic law and the Israeli law should not prosecute him for his faith and beliefs."

For his part, Muhammad Baraka, the head of the Higher Follow-up Committee for Arab Citizens in Israel, termed the verdict "unfair."

In a statement, Baraka said that the "ruling was prepared in advance, and was based on racist foundations and incitement against Arabs."

He pointed out that the target of the ruling was not only Salah, but also the overall work and political discourse of the Arab masses inside Israel. 

The Higher Follow-up Committee is the highest indigenous and representative body for Arab citizens living in Israel who roughly constitutes 21% of Israel's more than eight million population.