Israeli police ban Gaza children photos from anti-war protest, then backtrack

Israeli police initially banned the use of images of Palestinian children and babies from Gaza during an upcoming anti-war protest, but reversed the decision following media reporting. 

The police had issued a list of restrictions to Standing Together, the group organising the protest set for Thursday. 

According to the police letter obtained by Haaretz, the list included bans on images of children from Gaza, signs referring to captives, and the use of terms such as “genocide” and “ethnic cleansing”.

Following the publication of the restrictions, the police appeared to backtrack. 

According to the Times of Israel, protest organisers received updated instructions that omitted the previously banned content.

In response to the initial restrictions, Standing Together accused the police of politicising the protest and attempting to censor public criticism of the war and government policy.

“Since [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu chose to collapse the ceasefire deal to allow [National Security Minister Itamar] Ben Gvir to return to the coalition, the release of the hostages from Hamas captivity has been halted, and many Palestinian children have died,” the statement added.

At the outset of the Israeli war on Gaza, police imposed a ban on anti-war protests.

Attempts by activists and Palestinian citizens of Israel to demonstrate against the war were met with a heavy-handed police response.

Even when some protests were permitted months later, banners calling to “stop the genocide” were often confiscated.

Earlier this month, police detained 23 people who participated in a small anti-war protest in Haifa.

Since the start of the war, Israeli forces have killed more than 51,000 Palestinians in Gaza, including over 15,000 children.