The Israeli Knesset has given preliminary approval to a measure that would outlaw the display of Palestinian flags at state-funded institutions. The bill, proposed by the Likud Party and backed by Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, is a clear demonstration of the state's weakness in the face of Palestinian solidarity, demonstrating that "Israel" is in a state of panic more than seven decades after its establishment on the ruins of historic Palestine. 

The legislation would prohibit Palestinian flags from being flown at any "state-funded institution", not just universities. Moreover, this will tighten "Israel's" support base and force institutions to self-censor to retain government financing - even though, due to institutional discrimination and racism, Palestinian cultural organizations in "Israel" get just a fraction of available funding.

"Israel" places a premium on the issue of flying the Palestinian flag in occupied al-Quds, portraying it as a violation of Israeli sovereignty even though it is an occupying state. The irrational dread of the flag that affects Israelis carries a legacy of struggle and sacrifices against Israeli apartheid, remembering people who faced enormous catastrophes while remaining faithful to the land of their ancestors.

Notably, "Israel's" growing paranoia is a result of its government's instability. Every day, Israeli soldiers attack, shoot, and kill more Palestinian women and children during midnight raids using live rubber bullets, gas, and sound bombs.

Tens of thousands of Israeli extremists marched with Israeli flags outside occupied al-Quds' Damascus Gate, in parts of the Old City that are still inhabited by Arabs, in what many Palestinians perceived as a clear provocation and attack on their identity.

Waving the Palestinian flag is a protest against the ongoing dispossession, occupation, deportation, and hopelessness. And it should be seen as a protest against the erasing of Palestinian existence and the continued threat to the Palestinian future, not as a threat to anybody else. It is a symbolic act of self-defense in a world that ignores the reality of the Palestinian problem and people, in which the Palestinian people have devolved into a useless country on the face of the globe.

Related News

Germany’s citizenship law overhaul is a boon to 'Israel'

War and diplomacy during and after the flood

Anyone with a heart and a desire for justice should have no difficulty with the flags of the occupied, oppressed, and underprivileged. However, it is also necessary to recollect a few fundamental truths. The Palestinians' land has been taken from beneath their feet, and they face annihilation. "Israel" can only enforce bogus sovereignty claims in Palestine by eradicating all signs, symbols, and demonstrations of Palestinian political existence and vitality (Fara, 2022).

Additionally, the public flying of a Palestinian flag at the burial of well-known Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was used to justify harsh Israeli police assault against mourners. The flag march, which appeared to be nothing more than racist provocation, occurred on the same day that "Israel's" parliament voted to prohibit the display of Palestinian flags at "state-funded institutions." The campaign to outlaw the Palestinian flag is just another harsh action demonstrating how far "Israel" would go to suppress Palestinian national life.

This incitement campaign is marked by a strong interdependence between Israeli media, politicians, members of the public, and local militias that seek to scare Palestinians while police remain silent. This form of interconnectedness is not new but has reached unprecedented proportions.

Importantly, "Israel" is trying to remove the Palestinian problem from the national agenda while simultaneously suffocating its presence on the international level through normalization agreements that increase "Israel's" regional power and build security cooperation plans with neighbouring Arab governments. This is part of an integrated Israeli strategy in which the Palestinian flag is scrutinized since it is a major symbol of the Palestinian struggle.

The millions of Palestinians who have not been defeated by seven decades of Nakba have courageously raised the Palestinian flag. Palestinian flag signifies creativity, invention, success, grief, pleasure, loyalty, pride, solidarity, and resolve among Palestinian communities worldwide, from Lebanon to Chile to San Francisco.

Palestinians have always been strong-willed and certain that they are fighting for a great cause: the liberation of their original lands against a brutal occupation. They have unwavering trust in their cause: to regain the right to live freely and dignifiedly in their native lands. There are some noteworthy dimensions to the Palestinian cause. It has changed through time, and Palestinians have amazed the world with their resistance art. The Palestinian people's goal is to unite, resist, and inspire worldwide support for their cause.

The Palestinian flag represents independence and liberation; for Israelis, it represents fear and hatred. They regard it as an apparent threat to the Israeli occupation. For the past 74 years, a concerted effort has been made to erase any evidence of Palestinian identity, including rebranding cities with Hebrew names and ignoring the Nakba's tragedies. But the Palestinian spirit will continue as long as there are Palestinians.