![Israeli armored military vehicles enter Jenin Refugee Camp during the raid in the city of Jenin, north of the West Bank on December 12, 2023. [İssam Rimawi - Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/AA-20231212-33167731-33167727-ISRAELI_FORCES_RAID_THE_WEST_BANK_CITY_OF_JENIN.jpg?fit=920%2C613&ssl=1)
Israel Police temporarily shut the Haifa office of the left-wing Arab-Jewish political coalition Hadash for about ten hours on Monday due to its plans to screen a film about Israel’s occupation of the West Bank.
Israeli authorities claimed that the film, “Jenin, Jenin II”, directed by Palestinian filmmaker Mohamad Bakri, had been banned by an Israeli court. The movie focuses on the Israeli military’s incursions into the occupied West Bank city of Jenin in 2023.
However, the court had not banned this film but Bakri’s earlier film, “Jenin, Jenin”, which was about the 2002 Israeli invasion of Jenin Refugee Camp.
Israeli human rights lawyer Amnon Brownfield-Stein informed the New Arab that police had initially arrested Hadash Secretary Rim Hazan on Sunday over her attempt to screen the film “Jenin, Jenin” but she was later released after clarifying that Hadash intended to screen the sequel, not the original film.
However, the police summoned her again, warning that the screening should be cancelled due to a “risk to public safety” after Israeli right-wing activists launched a campaign to block the event. The proceeds were intended to be donated to Gaza, N12 reported.
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Israeli police stated that the screening could “result in a violation of public order and peace, and therefore there is a danger to those present on the site and the general public.” When Hadash refused to cancel the screening, police shut down the party’s offices.
In a statement to the New Arab, the Hadash Party Secretariat, along with the Communist Party, which is part of the coalition, condemned the police action as a “fascist” move.
“The police’s decision reveals the depth of fascist practice that affects political and party activism, especially those opposing the war and the government’s policy.” It added: “The Communist Party and Hadash also emphasised that their anti-war activities will continue and will be even stronger until the criminal war waged against Gaza is stopped.”
They announced plans to reschedule the screening of “Jenin, Jenin II” in two weeks and have sought assistance from the Legal Centre for Arab Minority Rights in Israel (Adalah) to ensure that Israel’s Attorney General prevents another shutdown.
Hadash Knesset Member Ofer Cassif condemned the office closure as a “clear tyrannical persecution by [Israeli National Security Minister] Ben-Gvir’s militia” and highlighted it as evidence of the right-wing government’s attempts to suppress anti-war voices in Israel.
The shutdown of Hadash’s Haifa office comes after Israeli police repeatedly tried to block Hadash and other parties from organising anti-war demonstrations, claiming it is due to public safety concerns, and have frequently confiscated anti-war banners despite directives from the State Prosecutor’s Office to allow them.