A democracy that shines for Jews

The Electronic Intifada reports on the petty lengths to which Israel will go to harass Palestinians in and around Jerusalem:

Israel is currently using provisions in the lengthy documents of the Oslo accords as the legal basis for intensifying efforts to suppress activities in Jerusalem that the state says are linked to the Palestinian Authority (PA). The Oslo accords were interim agreements that were signed by the Israeli government and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and from which the PA was created.

The Israeli government argues broadly that because the Oslo accords leaves the issue of Jerusalem unresolved until final status talks, it is forbidden to function in Jerusalem. Yet, just a month after the first of the Oslo accords were signed in 1993, then-Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres promised in writing that Israel would not “hamper” — and would instead “preserve” and “encourage” — the activity of “all the Palestinian institutions of East Jerusalem.” Jawad Boulos, a Palestinian lawyer with Israeli citizenship who has represented PA interests in court, said that a subsequent Israeli law on the implementation of the Oslo accords has superseded the Peres letter, and is the basis for the current prohibition.

The latest examples of this crackdown were closure orders delivered last month by armed Israeli police and border police at the opening and closing sessions of this year’s annual Palestine Festival of Literature, which were scheduled to be held in East Jerusalem’s Al-Hakawati Palestinian National Theater.

Text and images ©2024 Antony Loewenstein. All rights reserved.

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