Kamal Al-Khatib, deputy leader of the outlawed northern branch of the Islamic Movement, believes that the appointment of MK Avigdor Liberman as Defense Minister means the “beginning of the end of the Zionist enterprise.”
Khatib made the comments in an interview to the Shams News website, citing as proof an op-ed in the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper by former Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin and comments by Channel 2 News’s military correspondent Roni Daniel.
Khatib also said that Israel is led by “extremists” and claimed that the political and security situation in Israel threaten the future of the country.
“The Israeli establishment today is turning more towards the right and towards extremism,” said Khatib, who estimated that Liberman’s appointment would have negative consequences for Jerusalem, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Palestinian people and Israeli Arabs.
Khatib is the deputy to Raed Salah, head of the Islamic Movement who was sentenced to jail for incitement.
Like Salah, Khatib was slapped with a travel ban by Israeli authorities, as law enforcement agencies mull criminal charges over the role the pair and their organization have played in stoking ongoing Arab violence against Jews.
Also like Salah, Khatib is no stranger to incitement against Israel. Shortly after Salah was sentenced to jail, his deputy continued to urge Muslims to carry out terrorist attacks against Israel, calling for Israeli Arabs to take part in the “intifada” against Israel.