BICOM

The United Kingdom is expected to deport Sheikh Raed Salah, head of the radical northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel. Salah was arrested in Britain on Tuesday evening, after giving a talk in Leicester. He had previously been banned from travelling to the UK, but had succeeded in avoiding border checks. The British authorities have launched an inquiry to discover how Salah was able to enter the UK despite the ban.

Spokesmen for the northern branch of the Islamic movement protested yesterday that there was no reason for Salah’s arrest, and blamed the ‘Zionist lobby’ and members of the British Jewish community for his incarceration. Salah has in the past been convicted of assaulting a policeman in Israel and of funneling money to Hamas. The Islamic Movement is planning to hold a demonstration outside the British Embassy in Tel Aviv later today.