Four Palestinians who attended a Sukkot celebration with Jewish friends in the Judean city of Efrat last Wednesday were arrested the next day by Palestinian security forces.

The four Palestinians were hosted by Mayor Oded Revivi at his home as part of a holiday celebration in which Jews and Muslims joined together in the mayor’s sukkah. The gathering was publicized in the press and social media, with Revivi lauding it at the time as “real peace”. Thursday evening, family members reported to the media that the Arab men had been taken in for questioning.

Revivi said to Israel National News on Thursday evening, “An authority which names squares after suicide bombers and summons for questioning citizens who drink coffee and talk about peace with their Jewish neighbors is not one that promotes peace.”

“I salute my neighbors who were not afraid to come to our sukkah yesterday, to talk about peace, who asked to be photographed and to show the world that they are brave enough to stand up for peace,” he stressed.

Relatives of the Arab men told the Washington Post that the reason for the arrest was not because they took part in the Jewish celebration with Israelis, but because of the senior Israeli security officials present.

“The problem is the photos of the soldiers and us,” said Asad Abu Hamad, 40, a relative of the arrested men.

“The mayor tricked them,” Abu Hamad said. “Instead of helping us, he destroyed us.”