Israeli Police Shutdown Palfest – twice

On May 28, armed Israeli police shut down a Palestinian theatre in East Jerusalem, forcing foreign writers taking part in the closing of Palfest – an international Literature festival to shift venue for the second time in a week.
The festival, supported by the British council and Unesco, brought many well known literary figures together for a speaking tour of Jerusalem and the West bank. Among them were Claire Massoud, Henning Mankell, Michael Palin,  Ahdaf Soueif , Sumeir Hammad and others.
The opening night was also shut down in a similar fashion, but re-organized soon afterwards on a smaller scale at the nearby French Cultural Centre.  (see video below)
 

Events of the Opening day of Palfest

We're so taken aback. It's completely, completely independent," Egyptian author Ahdaf Soueif, said. "I think it's very telling," she told the crowd at the French centre. "Our motto, which is taken from the late Edward Said, is to pit the power of culture against the culture of power." "All cultural events which take place in areas of contention have political undertones," British writer Jeremy Harding said after the police action. "Talking about what literature is and what it means in a fraught political situation is the most honest thing we can do. They didn't like that." The Palestine Festival of Literature, or “Palfest,” is a cultural event. It brings writers and artists from around the world to Palestinian audiences. Its website offers minute detail of its organizational makeup. It discloses a full list of participants , a full festival schedule as well as stills documenting the entire event . Despite this the Israeli Ministry of Internal Security shut down the event saying it could not be held because it was a political activity connected to the Palestinian Authority. Richard Makepeace, the British Consul, went to the theatre for an explanation of the army's actions. He was informed of a court order pinned to the door of the theatre. After reading it, he announced that the event would shift to the British Council (see video below). 

Israeli policeman explain the situation to Richard Makepeace

Israel has for a long time prevented Palestinian political activity in Jerusalem, but more recently started shutting down cultural events in attempt to extend their control over the city. Earlier this year the Israeli Govt banned a series of cultural events, including a children’s march. These incidents come at a time when international criticism of Israel’s expansion policy in the West bank have been growing