Palestinians arrest 4 who attended settler celebration

October 23, 2016

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) Four Palestinians have been detained for
attending a Jewish holiday celebration in a West Bank settlement, according to
Palestinian officials.
A senior Palestinian security official said Sunday that "any Palestinian
cooperation with settlers is viewed as violating the law, as he cooperates with
the enemy." He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not permitted to
discuss the matter.
The Palestinians, along with the international community, object to Israeli
settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem areas captured by Israel in
the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek both territories as parts of a
future independent state, a position that has wide international backing. With
nearly 600,000 Israelis now living in settlements on occupied lands, the
Palestinians say their goal of establishing an independent state alongside Israel
is rapidly vanishing.
While Palestinians see settlements as illegal, thousands of Palestinian laborers in
the economically depressed West Bank continue to work in menial jobs in the
Israeli communities.
The security official said the government is aware of laborers who have no
choice but to work in settlements to support their families. He said officials are
interrogating the men who attended last week's celebration to see if they
violated any laws.
The four Palestinians were arrested Thursday after attending a Sukkot
celebration in Efrat, a settlement outside of Jerusalem. During the holiday, it is
customary for Jewish hosts to invite guests for meals inside a tent-like
structure meant to symbolize the dwellings that ancient Israelites used during
40 years in the desert after being released from slavery in Egypt.
Efrat Mayor Oded Revivi, who hosted the gathering, called on the Palestinian
Authority to release his guests.
"It is absurd that having coffee with Jews is considered a crime by the
Palestinian Authority," he said. "Initiatives that seek to foster cooperation and
peace between people should be encouraged, not silenced. It's time the
Palestinian Authority asks itself whether it would prefer to fan the flames of
conflict instead of working to bring people together."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later lashed out at rights groups, often
vocal in their criticism of Israel, for what he said was their reluctance to
condemn the imprisonment of the Palestinians.
"Where is the outrage of human rights organizations? There is none. To their
great shame, they are silent," Netanyahu wrote on Facebook. "I call on the
international community to work to help free these innocent Palestinians whose
imprisonment is yet another proof of the Palestinian refusal to make peace."
___
Associated Press writer Ian Deitch in Jerusalem contributed to this report.