Israel's security cabinet outlaws Islamic Movement's northern branch

Benjamin Netanyahu.
(Image credit: Handout/Getty Images)

The Israeli prime minister's office announced Monday that the country's security cabinet has outlawed the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel, which Israel says is a faction of the Muslim Brotherhood and a sister-movement to Hamas.

Now, the government can confiscate land belonging to the organization, and it will be considered a criminal offense for an individual to belong to or assist the group, punishable by imprisonment, Haaretz reports. The prime minister's office said the organization had to be outlawed in order to protect public safety, and the move is "not directed against the Arab and Muslim public in Israel, the great majority of which upholds the laws of the state and disavows incitement and terrorism."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.