The new Minister of National Security of Israel, Itamar Ben-Gvir, said this Sunday (9) that he instructed the country’s police to prohibit the raising of Palestinian flags in public.
In a statement, the minister said that raising the Palestinian flag is an act of support for terrorism.
“Criminals cannot wave terrorist flags and encourage terrorism. That’s why I ordered the removal of flags that support terrorism from public space and the cessation of incitement against Israel,” he said.
Israeli law does not prohibit Palestinian flags, but the police have the right to remove them if they consider there to be a threat to public order.
The measure comes two weeks after the 193 Member States of the UN asked for an opinion from the main judicial body of the entity on Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories.
Arabs in Israel make up about a fifth of the population. Most are descendants of Palestinians who remained in the state founded after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
Ben-Gvir arrived at the ministry after the return of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to power in Israel, at the end of 2022. He has the support of ultranationalist legends and members of the extreme right.
His campaign envisaged the expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, which could further increase tension in the region.
Last Tuesday (3), the new government was the target of criticism after Ben-Gvir visited the Al-Aqsa mosque complex, a holy place in Jerusalem. The episode triggered a wave of contrary statements —including from Brazil— to what was seen as a provocation against the Palestinians.
According to Israeli authorities, the visit complied with the agreement that provides that non-Muslims can visit the mosque, as long as they do not pray there.
The now-minister has already advocated ending the ban on Jewish prayer in the complex — members of his party still do — but has been more evasive on the matter since joining Netanyahu.
As a lawyer, Ben-Gvir specializes in defending radical Jewish activists, particularly in cases linked to clashes with Israeli Arabs and Palestinians.
He himself has been indicted several times for inciting racism and was part of a group of far-right radicals who reject the idea of treaties with the Palestinians — having celebrated when Yitzhak Rabin, mastermind of the Oslo Accords, was assassinated by another extremist.
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