High Court rules police can’t ban anti-war posters of children killed in Gaza

The High Court of Justice says that the police are not entitled to ban the use of posters and other forms of expression at demonstrations, and that an anti-war protest planned for Acre on Friday afternoon must be allowed to go ahead.

The police banned the protest when they discovered the protesters would be holding posters with the pictures of Palestinian children killed during the current conflict in Gaza, saying it constituted “nationalistic incitement.” The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) and the Standing Together organization filed an urgent petition against the police on Thursday evening.

The High Court, in its ruling, points to previous court rulings, statements by the police commissioner and instructions issued by the attorney general, asserting that the police are not empowered to issue such restrictions on the freedom of expression at protests.