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Occupied Jerusalem: Police on Sunday shut down an Islamic institute in northern Israel over alleged ties with Hamas, a move that underscored government concern over Islamist influence among the Jewish state's Arab citizens.
Shaikh Raed Salah, who founded the Al Aqsa Institute that tracks Israeli activities near Al Aqsa mosque in Arab East Jerusalem, denied any ties with Hamas.
Police said they seized documents, computers and other material belonging to the institute in the Israeli Arab town of Umm Al Fahm, before closing it down.
A special order issued by Defence Minister Ehud Barak declared the institute illegal.
A police statement said the Al Aqsa institute was conducting "joint activities" with Hamas, which seized the Gaza Strip from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction last year and has rejected Western calls to denounce violence.
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