Israel’s parliament approves bill banning raising of Palestinian flag

JERUSALEM (AA): The Knesset, Israel’s parliament, has passed a new bill that prohibits raising the Palestinian flag.

According to the Knesset website, the bill titled “prohibition of raising the flag of a hostile entity” was proposed by the far-right Jewish Strength (Otzma Yehudit) party headed by hardline National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

It added the bill was supported by 54 lawmakers and opposed by 16.

The bill stipulates that raising the Palestinian flag, or other flags of states classified as the enemy to Israel, within an assembly “will constitute a criminal offense that bears the penalty of a year’s imprisonment.”

The bill was approved in the parliament’s initial session and there are still three sessions to go before the bill is finally passed.

In January, Ben-Gvir said he instructed police to remove Palestinian flags from public spaces.

Even before the new draft bill, the Israeli police and soldiers had the authority to remove Palestinian flags in cases where they deemed there was a threat to public order.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned the passing of the bill, considering it “evidence that the ruling regime in Israel is heading towards fascism.”

The ministry warned that the move would further escalate the tension.

It added that the failure of the international community to check Israeli violations encourages it to go further with its brutal plans and apartheid policy, intensifying the suffering of hapless Palestinians.