Slippery Slope

Abdul Karim Lafi, an architect and chairman of the parents committee in Beit Safafa, was arrested and taken in for an interrogation at 2 am on the charge of calling for a strike in Beit Safafa schools to protest the construction of road number 4 that will take 250 dunums of private land and split the village in two. In addition, village residents have complained that ever since their protest has started, Israeli authorities have increased enforcement policies in the village, including sending in tax agents. (Haaretz)

(Hebrew – Haaretz)

The Jerusalem municipality issued new directives concerning demonstrations. Demonstrations will only be allowed between 7am and 11pm, and protest tents will be forbiddden in two central parks where they stood last summer.

(Hebrew)

Police intelligence ordered the categorical targeting of all Israeli Arabs joining social protests. This contrasts with the directives regarding Jewish demonstrators, which focus on rioters and anarchists.

Palestinian activist Sagar Abu Maria (42 years old) from Beit Omar reports that he was injured by soldiers who arrested him at a peaceful protest, beat him, dragged him over rocky ground and then charged him with assaulting the soldiers.

The police arrested social protest activists using excessive violence as they were trying to put up tents on Rothschild Blvd. in Tel Aviv, the center of the previous year’s protest. Among others, Tel Aviv police commander Yoram Ohayon arrested a protester who photographed the police, while another officer was threatening to break the protester’s arm (YouTube video in Hebrew). In another case, policemen were photographed looking for a legal excuse to remove a tent tied on top of a vehicle. When they couldn’t find any, they decided to disqualify the car on the ground that its front lights weren’t polished (Photo and explanation in Hebrew on Facebook).