Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced on Tuesday that he will not allow 110 Palestinians from entering in Israel next week to attend an alternative Israeli-Palestinian ceremony marking Memorial Day for Israel's Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terrorism.
The 13th annual alternative ceremony is scheduled to take place next Tuesday.
"I decided to bar the entry of 110 Palestinians, who were invited to a 'joint' Israeli-Palestinian ceremony that will be held on the eve of Memorial Day," Lieberman said in a statement. "I will not lend a hand to the desecration of Memorial Day. This is not a memorial ceremony, but rather a display of bad taste and insensitivity that hurts bereaved families that are most dear to us."
Since the first ceremony in 2006, the alternative ceremony has been at the heart of a public debate. The ceremony is jointly organized by Combatants for Peace, a volunteer group of Palestinian and Israeli former combatants devoted to promoting peace, and the Parents Circle - Family Forum, which brought together some 600 bereaved families, Palestinian and Israeli, seeking to promote peace.
In response to Lieberman's announcement, Combatants for Peace said it would appeal to the High Court of Justice to overturn the defense minister's decision.
"Defense Minister Lieberman is the one desecrating Memorial Day with his behavior," the group said in a statement. They also accused him of "attacking bereaved Israeli and Palestinian families seeking to promote a discussion on reconciliation."
The group excoriated Lieberman's "cynical political use of an instrument that is essentially supposed to be security-related. The sole purpose of this is to attack bereaved families and the Israelis and Palestinians who wish to mark Memorial Day together, out of mutual respect and the recognition that pain and sorrow doesn't solely belong to anyone."
Meretz Chairwoman Tamar Zandberg criticized Lieberman's decision as well, noting that those "participating in the ceremony of bereaved Israeli-Palestinian families are those who have paid the ultimate price in this blood conflict: family, spouses, siblings, children and parents. They decided to transform their pain into hope and to use it to commemorate one of the most difficult days of the year for them.
"How sad is it that this is the spark the defense minister tries to stamp out for another political spin on the backs of bereaved families. Lieberman also wants to turn Memorial Day into a controversial subject and use his security authority to prevent them from commemorating it in their way – the way of peace and real desire to stop the bloodshed. [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and Lieberman's government wants to use bereavement to divide Israeli citizens," she said.
