Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has ordered police to remove Palestinian flags being displayed in public spaces, despite a lack of legal basis for the decision where there is no danger of disturbing the peace.
Ben-Gvir, who earned international condemnation and a United Nations Security Council emergency session for his visit last week to the flashpoint Temple Mount site in Jerusalem, has deemed the flag “an act of terrorism,” according to local media reports.
The Times of Israel quoting Ben-Gvir’s office as saying that the minister had directed Israel Police chief Kobi Shabtai to implement the new decision.
“Minister Ben-Gvir sent the police commissioner’s office an order stating that all police officers of any rank are authorized in the course of police work to pull down flags of the Palestinian Authority,” the statement said.
The decision comes days after a mass protest in Tel Aviv against the new hardline government, during which some of the attendees also waved Palestinian flags.