Pro-PFLP gathering canceled
Police cancel rally in Haifa after discovering that the gathering, marketed as an elections event, is actually a support rally for terror organization
A Saturday gathering of members of the Israeli-Arab community in Haifa was called off, after police discovered that the event was meant to be a support rally for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), and a memorial for its leaders, George Habash.
Police Commissioner Dudi Cohen instructed officers on Friday to call off the event, scheduled for Saturday from 4 p.m. until midnight and organized by both Arab and Jewish spiritual leaders.
The event was marketed as an elections rally, but police investigation revealed that this was simply a front for the event's real purpose: An expression of support for the PFLP and the commemoration of the one year anniversary of Habash' death, which recently took place.
"Because this is an event in support of a terror organization, we have decided to prohibit it," read a statement from the northern district police office on Friday.
The order, which was delivered to event organizers and owners of the al-Midan Theater in Haifa, which was hosting the event, specifically prevents organizers from moving the gathering to a different location.
"It's not possible to have such an event in the state of Israel," said police sources, citing the PFLP's ideology that rejects Israel's existence.
Sharon Roffe-Ofir contributed to this report
