CALIPHATES CAPITAL WILL BE JERUSALEM

Israeli Islamist Leader: Caliphate´s Capital Will Be Jerusalem
By Nissan Ratzlav-Katz(INN)

Reiterating a position he has expressed in the past, the leader of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement declared that a new Caliphate will soon arise, with its capital in Jerusalem. The Islamist leader, Sheikh Raed Salah, made the prediction Friday night, at the 11th annual conference of the Israeli Islamic Movement, in the southern Galilee city of Um El-Fahm. Tens of thousands attended the event, including the Palestinian Authority-appointed mufti, Ikrima Sabri, and an archbishop of the Greek-Orthodox Church. Arab League Secretary-General Amr Musa of Egypt sent his regards to the gathering, as well.The conference was held under the slogan Al-Aksa [the Temple Mount mosque] is in Danger, which has been utilized as a theme repeatedly at Islamic gatherings in recent years, harking back to incitement that preceded Arab massacres of Jews in the pre-State period.

Likening Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem to that of past non-Muslim rulers in the region, Salah said, The Israeli occupation will leave Jerusalem soon. It will happen sooner than is thought.To aid in that process, Salah repeated a call of his from several months ago for Arab and Muslim states and organizations to establish a special fund aimed at saving Al-Aksa Mosque and Jerusalem from the Jews. Salah also claimed that former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and President Moshe Katzav are suffering, each in their own way, because of their plans to attack the Al-Aksa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City. Sheikh Raed Salah was arrested, along with four other leaders of the Islamic movement and the mayor of Umm El-Fahm, in 2003 on charges of belonging to a terrorist group, passing information to an enemy, contact with a foreign element (an Iranian intelligence operative stationed in Lebanon), conspiracy to commit a crime, money laundering, and other security and corporate crimes.