Below are answers to the questions we get asked the most about the Palestinian flag.
1. Can the Palestinian flag be waved in Israel?
Yes. There is no law in Israel that prohibits the Palestinian flag from being waved. Waving a flag – any flag – is a form of expression, and freedom of expression enjoys broad protection in the State of Israel. The Supreme Court ruled that the right to expression may not be restricted unless danger of grave harm to public safety is indisputable. Freedom of political expression, which includes waving the national flag, enjoys maximum legal protection. This is due to its vital role in the existence of a democratic regime, its social importance, and its increased vulnerability to harassment, relative to other forms of expression.
2. Where may the Palestinian flag be waved?
3. Is it a Palestinian flag or a Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) flag?
4. But waving the Palestinian flag may harm public sentiment.
5. What is the court’s stance on the Palestinian flag?
6. What about the bill banning Palestinian flags from being waved in universities?
7. So why do the police ban Palestinian flags from being waved?
Last February, ACRI petitioned the Police Commissioner and the Jerusalem District Commander to order them to bring an end to systematic police harassment of the Palestinian flag and those who wave it. In our petition, the High Court of Justice was asked to order the police to cease this illegal practice of confiscating Palestinian flags from demonstrators, and rule that waving the flag in practice does not constitute a threat to public peace. We also demanded that opening investigations due to incidents sparked by waving the Palestinian flag or resistance to confiscation, be conditional on the Attorney General’s approval, as with new investigations of further offenses regarding freedom of expression.
