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Israel Prevents Palestinian Conference in East Jerusalem This morning, Israeli intelligence services prevented Palestinian civil society organizations, members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) and conference participants from attending a forum organized to address the political, social and economic situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) in the wake of the PLC elections. The conference, entitled "The Implications of the Palestinian Elections on the Palestinian Political Setting:  Towards a Comprehensive Plan to Save Jerusalem," was to take place at the Ambassador Hotel in East Jerusalem.

Immediately preceding the conference, Israeli forces sealed off the building and issued an order to stop the event, claiming that it constituted ?political activity.? Israeli police subsequently arrested conference speakers, as well as representatives from the Palestinian Legislature. Israeli intelligence services also ordered members of the civil society organizations who organized the conference to attend a security investigation.

These actions represent the latest in Israeli efforts to limit the democratic and human rights of the Palestinians people in East Jerusalem. Despite allowing East Jerusalemites limited political participation in the recent Palestinian elections, Israeli authorities now prevent democratically elected officials and civil society organizations from holding conferences precisely because they are political in nature. These actions are a reminder that East Jerusalem remains under a repressive occupation where the Israeli authorities continue to systematically deny to Palestinians basic human rights of dialogue, free assembly, and freedom of speech.

The AIC condemns this invasion and calls for the immediate release of all those who were detained. Israel cannot expect to consistently violate the accepted international norms of appropriate conduct and expect the international community to remain silent. We therefore also call on the international community, which advocates for freedom and democracy, to ensure that Palestinians in East Jerusalem are allowed to exercise their rights.