Sheikh Kamal Khatib was arrested on Monday night by the Northern District Police, after intelligence indicated he had urged followers to respond violently to “the danger posed to the Al-Aqsa mosque by Israel’s actions on the holy site.”

Khatib was arraigned before the Nazareth Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday morning. The police sought to remand him to custody, but the court denied the motion, placing him under house arrest for five days and imposing restrictions on whom he could contact during this time.

The court did, however, allow Khatib to leave his home to pray at a nearby mosque.

“I was arrested because they [the police] said what I wrote on my Facebook page was incitement to violence,” Khatib said following his arraignment. “This is additional proof that the Israeli government and its police force are trying to silence people and infringe on the Arab sector’s freedom of speech. I have the right to express my opinions on Facebook and anywhere else.