Israel court orders release of 19 Palestinian citizens arrested in Haifa protest

Haifa District Court today ordered the release of 19 Palestinian citizens arrested on Friday during a protest in Haifa against Israeli forces’ massacre of demonstrators in the occupied Gaza Strip.

As reported by Haaretz, Israeli police requested that “the release of seven of the 19 detainees be delayed”. Judge Amir Salameh accepted the police request to delay their release until 2:00pm.

The judge noted that the detainees did not pose a threat, Haaretz reported, saying: “Some of those who were accused of violence needed medical treatment themselves”.

Jafar Farah, the head of the Mossawa Advocacy Centre who was arrested at the protest and claimed an officer broke his leg after being taken in, was also released. “What happened in the past two days in Haifa is a shame on democracy,” Farah said after his release.

It is inconceivable that people go out and protest and they are oppressed in such a way: Physically harmed, beaten, humiliated. I felt it on my own body. This is not democracy.

On Sunday night, hundreds attended a demonstration in Haifa denouncing both the killing of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the crackdown on the protest in the city the night before.

Read: Israel rejects international commission of inquiry into Gaza massacres

Participants carried placards saying “We oppose the occupation”, “Jews and Arabs together”, “You won’t silence Haifa” and “Jews and Arabs refuse to be enemies.”

They shouted: “blood-soaked regime, stop killing children”, “Fascism won’t be tolerated” and “Gaza, don’t despair, we’ll stop the occupation.”