JERUSALEM (VINnews) — After weeks in which the imam at Lod’s central mosque has been under suspicion for apparent incitement to violence during the riots which broke out in the town a month ago, police arrested him Thursday on charges of incitement.
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Sheikh Yusuf Albuzz, 63, an imam at Lod’s Great Mosque, was questioned by investigators in the Lahav 433 unit. He was expected to be remanded in custody later in the day at the Rishon Lezion Magistrates’ Court.
Albuzz was arrested over social media posts which appeared to encourage violence against police. He is also suspected of inciting to violence in speeches he made at the mosque, especially during the recent riots in which hundreds of cars and ten synagogues were set on fire by marauding local Arabs.
In a clip shared by him Tuesday, Albuzz showed a violent scene from the movie “Wolf Creek” in which a man is shown murdering traffic police officers after getting a ticket. In the gruesome scene, the policemen arrest the man for a speeding offense, and he in response attacks them with severe violence and eventually kills them. He first injures them by stabbing them with a knife, and then burns them alive in the vehicle. Above the 7-minute video he shared, Albuzz wrote: “Be with me. The best way to deal with injustice.”
Albuzz is associated with the outlawed Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement, and has also referred to Israel as an “enemy state” and wished “deaths” upon the “Zionist occupation” in past online posts. MK Mansour Abbas, who is a member of the current government, is associated with the Southern Branch of the movement which is opposed to employing violent means as a way of attaining Arab goals in Israel.
“Pursuant to the harassment and persecution by the Israel Police, which is under tremendous pressure by MK Itamar Ben Gvir and other extremist elements, tonight the police arrested the sheikh over sermons that he gave,” his lawyer told Haaretz.
The attorney, Rais Abu Saif, said Albuzz had been in contact with police in recent days, though no claims of incitement were personally directed at him during those exchanges.
“He was asked to encourage calm, which he did,” the lawyer said.
Police however saw things differently and stated that “in the wake of Israeli police’s struggle against incitement crimes on social media, detectives from the Lahav 443 unit for investigation of international crimes arrested a Lod resident who is suspected of posting on June 15 2021 a post on Facebook which refers to a clip calling on people to attack police. The accused wrote that this is “the best way to deal with injustice” and is suspected of encouraging violence, terror and threats.
Devorah Gonen, mother of Dani Gonen who was murdered in a terror attack 6 years ago and lives in Lod said that “I hope this is not another police exercise. The residents of Lod as well as all Israel’s citizens deserve to live in security. This is not a right but an elementary duty of the state. It’s time for the inciting imam to be behind bars.”
Hadar Miller, a Lod resident, welcomed the arrest but called on police to confiscate all of the illegal weapons in the town. Eitan Meir, another local resident, said that “it’s sad to see conflict in Lod and somebody must stop it. The incitement heard in mosques around the town caused many to go out and riot. We are sick of talk, it’s time for action. We deserved to live in safety.”
In a final post before his arrest, the imam dismissed the uproar over his post: “Who woud believe that MKs are afraid of a clip from an American movie and a person expression his opinion about the movie. We will soon see whether this is the madness of crazy people or the state announcing its bankruptcy. Time will tell what is right.”
In a separate development, police arrested four Arab residents of Lod some 10 days ago in connection with the killing of a Jewish man last month. Investigators however, may not have sufficient evidence to charge the four suspects with the murder of Yigal Yehoshua, 56, according to a report by the Kan news station. Prosecutors will soon determine whether to file indictments against the suspects and on what charges, the report said.
Yehoshua was on his way home on May 11 when he found himself in the middle of violent protests sweeping Lod. His car was pelted with rocks and he was hit in the head with a brick. Yehoshua was rushed to Shamir Medical Center in serious condition, but his condition deteriorated and he succumbed to his wounds several days later.
a government that denies that there is a war being waged on its people and instead of going to an all out war, saddles itself with a burden of proof pretending this is all violent crime, is a government that cannot secure a future for its citizens.