Regionally, meanwhile, the Islamic Movement is at its weakest. Its sister organization, the Muslim Brotherhood, has been outlawed in neighboring Egypt, while Cairo has joined Israel in isolating Hamas in Gaza.
And locally, the Israeli Jewish public wants someone to blame after weeks of Palestinian attacks, including stabbings, in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Israel.
Intelligence services have admitted they have little idea how to deal with the so-called "lone wolves," individual Palestinians not affiliated with any political faction, behind most of the attacks.
Zahalka said Netanyahu wanted a scapegoat and had found a convenient one in Salah. In statements on Tuesday, Netanyahu blamed the weeks of unrest on what he called "incitement" by the Islamic Movement about the status quo at al-Aqsa.
Haifa University sociologist Sammy Smooha told reporters his polls suggested that 42 percent of Palestinian citizens identified with the Islamic Movement.
Salah is due to start an 11-month prison term next week after an Israeli court found him guilty of incitement over a sermon he delivered in Jerusalem in 2007. It is the latest of several jail terms he has served.
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