Masked police officers raided a meetup club for young Hadash party activists in the Arab Israeli town of Umm al-Fahm, saying they entered the premises to confiscate Palestinian flags.
Hadash, a joint Arab-Jewish party, and the Israeli Communist Party, which is part of Hadash, issued a statement, saying police removed the flags and left without identifying themselves or clarifying whether they were acting under a search warrant.
The raid is reportedly not unusual, as police often take such measures ahead of major public events, such as the May Day demonstration expected to take place on Saturday in Nazareth.
Young Hadash activists who were present in the hall condemned the police raid but there was no confrontation with the officers. Activists arrived at the club shortly after the raid, including former MK Youssef Jabarin. Hadash and the Communist Party said they plan to hold the demonstration later Saturday, adding that they are undeterred by the police raid.
The Israel Police have yet to respond to Haaretz’s request for comment.