Sheikh Raed Salah Abu Shakra (Arabic: رائد صلاح‎, Hebrew: ראאד סלאח‎; born 1958) is a Palestinian religious leader from Umm al-Fahm, Israel. He is best known for being the leader of the outlawed Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel. He became the mayor of Umm al-Fahm in 1989 but stepped down in 2001 to focus on his religious activities. He has eight children, and is a former poet.Salah is a popular figure in the Muslim world and among Palestinians for his staunch defense of al-Aqsa against what they see as Israeli attempts to take it over. He has, among other things, held sermons praising the “defenders of al-Aqsa” and his Northern Branch has organized free bus trips from Palestinian localities in Israel to Jerusalem in order to strengthen the bond between Muslims and the holy site.Israel has accused Salah of inciting to violence and of supporting terrorism. It has arrested Salah numerous times and he has spent many years in Israeli prisons. But these arrests have increased his popularity.

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