JERUSALEM — Israel on Tuesday outlawed an Islamist group accused of inciting violence among Arab citizens amid two months of unrest. In a separate development, lawmakers approved the construction of hundreds of housing units in a Jewish settlement in east Jerusalem.
The ban was condemned by Arab leaders, and the granting of final approval for the construction of more than 400 homes in east Jerusalem was likely to anger the Palestinians.
The international community opposes Israeli construction in east Jerusalem, which Israel captured in 1967 and the Palestinians claim as their capital. This project has drawn U.S. ire because it was first announced during a visit to Israel by Vice President Joe Biden in 2010.
The Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement of Israel, which provides religious and educational services for Israeli Arabs, routinely accuses Israel of trying to take over a sensitive holy site in Jerusalem, a charge Israel denies. Tensions over the site, which is revered by Jews and Muslims, are at the heart of the latest violence.
Israeli politicians have called for the ban on the group since the violence erupted in mid-September.
“We will continue to act against those who incite and who encourage terrorism, wherever they are,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
After the decision, police closed 17 organizations affiliated with the party and searched more than a dozen of their offices, seizing computers, files and funds. Authorities also froze the group’s bank accounts, and the government said activists could be subject to arrest if they violate the ban.
The group’s leader, radical cleric Raed Salah, said his party would fight the ban and continue its mission.
“All these measures done by the Israeli establishment are oppressive and condemned,” Salah said, adding that he and two other party leaders were summoned for police questioning.
Salah is set to start an 11-month jail term later this month in connection with incitement charges from a 2007 sermon in which he allegedly called for a new uprising against Israel.
In a statement, the government claimed the movement is affiliated with the regionwide Muslim Brotherhood, has ties to the Palestinian militant Hamas group and is committed to Israel’s destruction.
Israeli Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan sought to link the decision to the attacks in Paris, saying Israel should lead the “struggle against radical Islam.”
Salah’s deputy, Kamal Khatib, said the party condemned the Paris attacks and charged Israel with exploiting the timing to “punish the Islamic Movement.”
Arab leaders and lawmakers condemned the move by the Israeli government, saying it was aimed at “incriminating” all Arabs in Israel.
Arabs make up roughly 20 percent of Israel’s population, holding citizenship rights but frequently suffering discrimination in jobs, housing and public services.
