Palestinian succah visitors arrested

Four Palestinians finally walked free on Sunday, after being detained for an unusual misdemeanour – visiting a succah.

Israeli police had no issue with their heading to a hut, but the Palestinian security forces took exception to their actions, and hauled them in shortly after they emptied their coffee cups.

In a part of the West Bank where friendly ties between Palestinians and settlers are a rarity, the village Wadi al-Nis is unusual for the warm relations between some of its residents and the nearby Efrat settlement. Several villagers accepted an invitation from Efrat’s mayor Oded Revivi, and gathered in his succah for hot drinks.

For the Palestinian Authority security forces, this was too much. And while family and friends hoped that they had just been taken for a brief questioning, they remained in detention for four days.

“I was extremely upset,” Revivi told The AJN. “They are my friends, they are people that we have a close relationship with. It was extremely unexpected.”

He argued: “It was a bit ridiculous and pathetic for having coffee with your neighbour.”

But Palestinian officials have claimed that the detentions were essential to lay down red lines. The local Palestinian deputy-governor Mohammad Taha has said that visiting settlers is “completely unacceptable.” The Palestinian establishment slams any day-to-day relationships with settlers as “normalisation,” meaning the acceptance of settlers in the West Bank.

In the end, it took top-level intervention by Israel to free the four men – Riyad Abu Hamad, Yakoub Mousa Abu Hamad, Farouk Mousa Abu Hamad and Mohammad Ahmed. The Israeli military body that oversees the West Bank pressured the Palestinian Authority to release them.

The four-day detention is a rare glimpse into the seriousness with which the Palestinian Authority treats “normalisation” today. It came as Israeli peace activists are saying that they are finding it harder to conduct dialogue with Palestinians because they fear being viewed as “normalisers” – regardless of whether Palestinians are talking to dovish or hawkish Israelis and regardless of whether the Israelis live in settlements or in central Tel Aviv.

Sultan Abu Al-Einein, advisor to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said in June that he has no mercy for Palestinians who conduct dialogue with Israelis. He said: “If you would ask me about my personal position, I would tell you – every place you find an Israeli cut off his head. Likewise, I am against talks, negotiations, meetings, and normalisation in all its forms with the Israeli occupation.”

NATHAN JEFFAY

comments