An Israeli court on Wednesday decided to extend the solitary confinement of Sheikh Ra’ed Salah head of the Islamic Movement in 1948 occupied Palestine (Israel) until he completes his prison term.

Recently the district court in Beersheba received a request form Israeli prosecutors asking to extend the isolation of Sheikh Salah.

Sheikh Salah has been in jail since mid-August last year serving a 28-month prison sentence on alleged incitement charges.

Lawyer Khaled Zabarqa condemned the detention of Sheikh Salah in an isolation cell for extended periods describing the measure as a crime and an act of torture.

An Israeli court on Wednesday extended the solitary confinement of Sheikh Ra’ed Salah for six additional months.

Lawyer Khaled Zabarqa revealed a few days ago that there was an Israeli intent to extend the isolation of Sheikh Salah under flimsy security pretexts.

“He has been in isolation for six months and today the court extended it for another six months which means he will spend a whole year in solitary confinement” Zabarqa told Anadolu Agency.

According to Zabarqa the Israeli security authorities which submitted a request in this regard to the Israeli district court in Beersheba claimed that Sheikh Salah could pose a security threat to Israel if he was locked up with other prisoners.

Describing Wednesday’s court session as a mere formality Zabarqa accused the court of approving what the security services wanted without looking into the truth of their allegations and not caring about the impact of its verdict on Sheikh Salah’s health.

“Israel is prosecuting Salah for his ideology and religious beliefs and not because of any criminal offence” the lawyer affirmed.