Ahead of an anti-war protest planned on Saturday, Adalah and Arab leaders ask High Court to prevent obstruction

JERUSALEM: Ahead of an anti-war protest planned in the Arab town of Nazareth on Saturday, Adalah - The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel yesterday filed a petition to the Israeli Supreme Court challenging what it described as 'the police's unlawful obstruction and conditioning of anti-war protests in Nazareth.' It said in a statement that the petition was submitted on behalf of Mohammad Barakeh, Chairman of the High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens in Israel, ahead of a scheduled protest at the Al-Ein Square in Nazareth on 16 December against Israel's war on Gaza. In the petition, Adalah urged the Court to order the police to refrain from obstructing this event and to halt the broader unlawful policy of prohibiting protests against the ongoing war and in support of the exchange of hostages. The Supreme Court dismissed an earlier petition on 3 December that was filed by Adalah to stop the police from obstructing protests organized by the High Follow-Up Committee in Nazareth. The court dism issed the petition, asserting that the petitioners had not adequately proven their argument that the protest was not subject to requirements for a permit under Israeli law, despite the clear exemption stipulated in law and in related guidelines of the Attorney General. Notably, on December 10 the Supreme Court affirmed that no permit was required for such a protest, in the context of a separate petition concerning a similar protest in Tel Aviv. Following the court ruling, the High Follow-Up Committee decided to organize a protest vigil on 16 December. Adalah subsequently contacted the police and the State Attorney's Office to request that they ensure that the police respect the participants' right to protest against the war and allow the planned protest to go ahead. In response, the Deputy State Attorney for Special Matters claimed that 'The State Attorney's Office is not the address for this appeal, but the Israeli Police.' In its response to Barakeh's request, the police stated that it was 'authorized to s et conditions even on protests that do not require a permit, based on its discretion and assessment of the situation,' and that such assessment 'will take place closer to the date of the event,' following which it would address Barakeh's request. In the petition, Adalah argued that, as the protest in question does not involve any marches or speeches, it does not require a permit under either the Police Ordinance or the Attorney General's guidelines, regardless of the number of participants. Adalah therefore contended that the police's claim that it is entitled to impose its conditions on such a protest is tantamount to conditioning it on a permit, a situation that breaches the rule of law, and the rights to freedom of protest and assembly. Adalah underscored that the police's policies of systematically blocking protests organized by the High Follow-Up Committee and imposing conditions on protests that do not require a permit are unlawful. Moreover, they seek to preemptively censor legitimate political expre ssion by Palestinian citizens of Israel. Finally, Adalah emphasized that the police's de facto ban on protests by Palestinians in Israel constituted a flagrant contravention of Israeli law. Source: Palestine News and Information Agency – WAFA