Police ban memorial ceremony for George Habash

Police Commissioner Dudi Cohen obtained an injunction ordering the closure of the Abu Maher events hall in Nazareth where the remembrance ceremony for George Habash, the recently deceased founder of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), was set to take place.

Arab MKs and members of the public expressed anger at the decision saying they would appeal to the High Court on the matter.

Police officers from the Amekim district said they were very surprised to hear from the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee that it intended to hold a ceremony in honor the later Habash in Nazareth. The committee did not hide its plan to do so and distributed invitations to the event through the media.

The police turned to the police commissioner so that he would issue a closure order, which he did saying: "From the authority vested in me by clause 6a for the prevention of terrorism and after I was convinced that there is about to be a terrorist attack by the Popular Front (for the liberation of Palestine), I am ordering the closure of all sections of the building where the activity is supposed to take place."

In addition, Commissioner Cohen ordered the "closure of any place where there is a desire to hold said ceremony." The injunction will go into effect on Friday between noon and midnight.

Senior police officials said that the purpose of the assembly was the expression of support for George Habash and the PFLP organization whose ideological basis denies the right of existence of the State of Israel. "Thus, it is not possible to give a hand to this type of event in the State of Israel," one official said.

Arab MKs not happy

Officials from within the Arab sector reacted with anger to the decision and Adallah, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, intends to appeal to the High Court in order to have the injunction cancelled. "The factual rulings are incorrect, and we are suing for the cancellation of the injunction. If we don't get an answer – we'll appeal to the High Court," Adallah attorney Orna Cohen said.

Raja Agbaria, the director general of Bnei Hakfar and one of the event's organizers, referred to the police commissioner's decision and said: "This is an assembly organized by all the parties in Israel, if in the eyes of police, the Arab parties are a 'popular front' then why don’t they arrest all of us," he asked rhetorically.

The event will go on tomorrow in any case only now it will be bigger and more widespread. I won’t elaborate how the activity will be held."

MK Ahmad Tibi (United Arab List-Ta'al) said that "the injunction that was issued is a grave violation of basic rights and an abuse of the police's authority. This is a gag order that demands judicial intervention and we will turn to the High Court."

MK Jamal Zahalka, chairman of the National Democratic Assembly, harshly condemned the decision: "This is an insolent and offensive decision. It will not prevent us from memorializing one of the most important Palestinian leaders in the 20th century," he said.

"They're afraid of the dead and bringing up their memories. This is a serious injury to freedom of political action and an additional layer in the political persecution of the Arab leadership in Israel."

Hadash Chairman MK Mohammad Barakeh referred to the anger at the commissioner's decision saying "this is a political assembly initiated by a public committee including known MKs. The police commissioner's letter represents the damaging of freedom of expression and democracy and, in any case, the event will be held and the injunction will be cancelled and voided."

Avi Cohen contributed to this report