Minister pulls injunction against Arab conference

Internal Security Ministry Yitzhak Ahanovitch (Yisrael Beiteinu) has gone back on his decision to cancel a political conference of the Arab Democratic Party in the northern village of 'Ara. The conference was to be held on Friday as planned according to the original agenda, after the police on Thursday night canceled an injunction issued by the minister only several hours earlier.

The order stated that Aharonovitch had been informed the convention would be sponsored by the Palestinian Authority, and therefore would be canceled, in accordance with a law that forbids the activities of the Palestinian Authority in the State of Israel.

The minister's office told Ynet, "According to information we received, the PA may be involved in some parts of the convention. This is illegal, which is why the minister allowed the law enforcement authorities to prevent it from taking place."

'Victory for the rule of law'

The police explained Friday morning that the conference would be allowed to go ahead as planned after the party decided to cancel a distribution of PA scholarships. Officials at the Public Security Ministry said Friday that the injunction was pulled after the conference organizers canceled a speech by Palestinian President Mahoud Abbas' chief of staff.

Arab Democratic Party sources stated, however, that no PA official was scheduled to take part in the ceremony in the first place and that the PA was still one of the bodies donating funds for the scholarships.

"We are acting in accordance with the law, and we have no plans to act against the law," said Knesset Member Talab El-Sana (United Arab List-Ta'al), the party's chairman, who sent Minister Aharonovitch a letter protesting his decision. "The person trampling the norms of the rule of law is the internal security minister of all people, who is supposed to be the person in charge of the law in Israel."

El-Sana added, "The cancelation is a victory for the rule of law and for our firm belief in our rights." The MK was personally informed of the decision to cancel the order by the Northern District Police's legal advisor.

"This is a failure of the police led by the internal security minister, who is abusing his state position in order to apply a political agenda against the Arab public and its leaders," El-Sana argued.

Public Security Ministry officials said El-Sana promised not to break the law during the phone conversation. "His exact words were, 'My protest will be loud, but I will honor you and the police,'" a ministry spokesman said, clarifying that if the PA scholarships would be handed out during the event, the police would act. "The injunction still stands and the decision has not been changed."