Former Knesset members Mohammed Baraka, Haneen Zoabi, Sami Abu Shehadeh and Matanes Shehadeh were detained on Thursday during or on the way to a demonstration in Nazareth against Israel's war on Gaza.
Former MK Bracha was arrested on his way to the demonstration by undercover police officers who were chasing his car. Yesterday, Bracha informed the Nazareth police chief that the monitoring committee intends to hold a protest vigil, without a procession in Nazareth's Spring Square, whose number of participants will not exceed 50 people.
Elected officials from Arab society arrested during demonstration against the war in Nazareth
The Adalah Center, which provides legal advice to the pool, said: "Just yesterday, the High Court of Justice issued a ruling in which it ruled that the police do not have the authority to completely ban protests in Arab society, even in times of war. And the next day, we see that this is a policy implemented on the ground and its purpose is to silence all criticism and suppress the freedom of demonstration of Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel. This is an illegal arrest, the purpose of which is to prevent political activity according to the law."
The Hadash party said in response to the delay of the former MKs: "An attack by the Ben-Gvir-Netanyahu government on the agreed leadership of the Arab public is an attack on the Arab public in order to create tensions between Jews and Arabs, and to silence the voices calling for peace and an end to the war. Bracha dedicated his life to the Jewish-Arab struggle against the occupation and for equality and true partnership, which was also recently revealed in the initiatives of the monitoring committee to hold an Arab-Jewish meeting against the war. We will continue the responsible and political struggle against the gagging and for a just peaceful future!"
Muhammad Baraka at the police station,
The police said in response: "This is an illegal demonstration. These days, when the State of Israel is in a state of war, the atmosphere in the public is very tense. Our abductees have not yet returned, and the police are overloaded with tasks – every Israeli citizen is expected to respect the law and listen to police instructions."
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