Former MK Mohammed Barakeh arrested on suspicion of incitement after Nazi comparison

Former Knesset member Mohammed Barakeh was arrested on suspicion of incitement and brought to the Petah Tikva Magistrate’s Court for a bail hearing. According to a report by Kan 11, Judge Oded Morano found there was reasonable suspicion that an offense had been committed and ordered Barakeh released under conditions, including staying away from the West Bank and posting personal bail.

The investigation, opened last week, concerns a speech Barakeh delivered at a Fatah rally in Ramallah in 2022. He was summoned for questioning by the Samaria District’s criminal investigation unit after receiving approval only recently from the deputy state attorney to investigate the case, even though a complaint against him had been filed in 2023.

The alleged offense relates to remarks he made while serving as chairman of the High Follow-Up Committee for Arab citizens of Israel. In Ramallah, at an event marking the 58th anniversary of Fatah’s founding, Barakeh praised terrorists, compared the Israeli government to a Nazi regime, and called for “popular resistance to the occupation” and for “struggle and fighting,” which led to the investigation.