At first glance, it doesn’t seem particularly unusual. In April, four Palestinian protesters were arrested after disrupting a performance by an Indian dance troupe at the Al-Qasaba theatre in Ramallah.

The protesters – Zeid Shuaibi, Abdel Jawad Hamayel, Fadi Quran and Fajr Harb – were activists in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which aims to force the Jewish state into political, economic and cultural isolation. Their grievance was simple: the Indian dancers had previously performed in Israel.

(One might be forgiven for viewing performances in both Tel Aviv and Ramallah as a gesture of support for peace. But that’s not how the BDS movement sees it.)

But here’s the twist: in an unprecedented development, these protesters were arrested not by Israeli forces, but by the Palestinian police.

Moreover, the Palestinian authorities seemed determined to make an example of the BDS four, choosing not to let them go with a “slap on the wrist”. On 28 May they were formally charged with “provoking riots and the breach of public tranquillity”, and the case will go to court on 14 July.

The irony is tangible. All over Britain, the United States, Europe and Australia, campaigners for the BDS movement are lauded as champions of the Palestinian cause.

Read the article in full at the Daily Telegraph.