Sheikh Jarrah, Jerusalem demonstration (Activestills.org)
By Nir Hasson, Haaretz – 4 March 2010
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1153933.html
Supreme Court justices harshly criticized Jerusalem police on Thursday over their handling of the protests in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem.
This criticism was issued by the justices during a court hearing on a petition filed by residents of Sheikh Jarrah, who demanded to be allowed to protest on this coming Saturday night, a demonstration the police hasn’t authorized.
The justices sided with the residents and stressed that the police should not seize the residents’ right to protest.
“The police’s behavior regarding these protests takes us 30 years backwards,” the justices said.
Protesters demand the right to demonstrate in Sheikh Jarrah near the contested houses inhabited by settlers which once belonged to Palestinians.
Last December, police arrested 25 left-wing activists during a protest which turned into a violent confrontation with security forces. Some 300 activists took part in the demonstration.
