The New Arab / January 11, 2023
MENA
Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem have raised Palestinian flags in a challenge to extreme-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s decision to ban the flag and remove it from all public spaces.
Footage shared on social media showed a man hanging Palestinian flags from electricity poles in the occupied holy city, in defiance of Ben-Gvir’s decision.
It came as Ben-Gvir compared the Palestinian flag to a Nazi symbol on Twitter.
“Freedom of speech – yes. Full on waving Nazi symbols – no. Violation of order and road blocks contrary to the law – no. A law is a law and it applies to everyone,” Ben-Gvir tweeted.
On Sunday, Ben-Gvir gave orders to Israeli police to remove Palestinian flags from any public space, claiming that it was the symbol of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which he described as a “terrorist organization”.
Amnesty International has condemned Ben-Gvir’s ban as “a “shameless attempt to legitimize racism”.
“Israeli authorities say the directive is aimed at stopping ‘incitement’ against Israel, but it comes amid a string of measures designed to silence dissent and restrict protests, including those held in defence of Palestinian rights,” Amnesty said in a statement.
“The farcical pretexts for this directive cannot mask the fact that Israeli authorities are growing increasingly ruthless in their attempts to silence Palestinian voices,” the statement added.
Ben-Gvir, who leads the far-right Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party, has a history of inciting violence against Palestinians, previously calling on police to open fire on Palestinian residents of the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of East Jerusalem.
He is a disciple of racist Israeli Rabbi Meir Kahane, who advocated the expulsion of all Palestinians from Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip.
Last week, Ben-Gvir embarked on a provocative visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem – the third most holy site in the Islamic faith – which was condemned by the UN Security Council and governments worldwide.
