Court rejects petition against ban on Habash memorial rally

Haaretz 17:31 29/02/2008

By Yoav Stern and Jack Khoury, Haaretz Correspondents

The High Court on Friday rejected a petition against a police order prohibiting a memorial rally in Nazareth for George Habash, the founder of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, who died in late January. The court ruled against the petition, which was submitted by the Adalah Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, after state officials provided the justices with classified information. Meanwhile, dozens of people who planned on attending the rally gathered at the northern town's Ma'ayan square, where they intended to demonstrate against the ruling and to form a human chain in memory of the PFLP founder.

The protesters said they would rally in separate groups of 50, so as not to violate the police order. Hadash Chairman MK Mohammed Barakeh on Friday condemned the court's decision: "To our sorrow, the High Court has once again given support to a provocative order aimed at the whole Arab public and in opposition to the principles of democracy." The Adalah petition had charged that the police order infringed on the basic right of freedom of expression.