Israeli authorities entered a French culture centre in Jerusalem on Thursday to cancel an event, alleging it was to involve an association supported by the Palestinian Authority, a diplomatic source said, reports The Times of Israel.
In a rare move, police entered the centre in East Jerusalem, the source with the French consulate said.
An order posted on the door of the building said that the centre, which is connected to the French foreign ministry, intended to host an event organized with a women’s association “sponsored or financed by the Palestinian Authority” and “without authorization.”
Israel banned the Palestinian Authority from carrying out official business in East Jerusalem in 2001, in accordance with the 1995 Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip that prohibits the PA from operating in Israeli territory.
The consulate could not confirm if the association was indeed financed by the PA, but Palestinians who were to participate in the event said the allegation was false.
After police arrived, France’s consul general immediately protested against the action at an institute “belonging to our diplomatic and cultural network,” the diplomatic source said.
The consul called on police “to leave the location,” and security forces left in the late morning, the source said, adding that the consulate took the incident “seriously”.
Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while Israel’s foreign ministry declined to comment.
According to the association that was to participate in the event, its director and a volunteer were briefly detained.
“It was an event related to Mother’s Day” and to sell crafts made by women from Jerusalem, said one of the women who was to participate, declining to give her name.
Similar events occur on a near-monthly basis, she said.