Police Disrupting Arab Weddings
On October 14, 2026, ACRI appealed to the Attorney General, demanding that she intervene to stop police harassment during weddings and other celebrations in Arab society. The appeal described several incidents in which the police arrived in large numbers, dispersed or disrupted events, and detained or arrested participants, exceeded their authority, or used disproportionate force.
In one incident, a groom, bride, and other guests were detained for questioning by officers from the Ayarot police station, on the grounds that the convoy of vehicles accompanying the couple had caused a traffic jam. In Umm al-Fahm, police raided a wedding and threw stun grenades under the pretext of searching for weapons. Police officers ordered the guests, including elderly people, to lie on the ground and remain there for about half an hour, beat those who tried to speak or find out what was happening, and even ate refreshments served at the wedding while the guests were lying on the floor. Despite searches conducted at the venue and on the guests, the incident ended with no arrests and no weapons found. In Fureidis, a groom was arrested on his wedding day, along with his father and the DJ, on suspicion of involvement in a shooting. The wedding took place without him, and after a day in detention, those arrested were released. The court found that there was no reasonable suspicion of their involvement in the shooting, and strongly criticized the arrests.
In ACRI’s appeal, Attorney Nitsan Ilani argued that this conduct by the police violates the rights to dignity, liberty, privacy, and family life; that the focus on events in Arab society reflects selective and discriminatory over-enforcement and violates the right to equality; and that searches and arrests without a sufficient evidentiary basis also violate the right to due process and personal security. The increase in the number of these types of incidents, and the use of some of them by the Minister of National Security for election campaigning, raise concerns that police activity is being influenced by political considerations. As we stressed in the appeal, the police are required to act professionally, without prejudice, and independently, and the Minister does not have the authority to give the police operational instructions about specific activities.
ACRI demanded that the Attorney General instruct the senior police command and the police legal counsel to direct all police officers to cease the harassment. We also requested that the incidents detailed in the appeal be examined and that measures be taken against the police officers involved, particularly those in command positions.
ACRI’s appeal, October 14, 2026 (Heb)
