Police Arrested Protesters for Waving the Palestinian Flag
On 17 December 2022, police detained three activists for waving the Palestinian flag during a demonstration in Haifa, protesting against the severe sentences imposed against Palestinians accused of committing offenses during the May 2021 Uprising.
Several days prior to the planned demonstration, on 14 December 2022, police summoned one activist to the Haifa police station. Police officers informed him that they would not be permitted to hold the demonstration where it was meant to be held due to the proximity to “the celebration of the Holiday of Holidays”, an annual Jewish-Christian-Muslim event in Haifa, and that they are going to prevent them from waving the Palestinian flag.
The police noted in a letter served upon the activist during the police questioning that holding the demonstration and waving what it referred to as the “PLO flag” might result in “breaches of public order and violent riots”.
In response, on 15 December 2022, Adalah - The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, sent an urgent letter to the Haifa police commander Moshe Cohen, the deputy police commander, and the Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, demanding that the police cancel its decision and refrain from any action aimed at preventing the lawful demonstration from taking place.
CLICK HERE to read Adalah’s letter [Hebrew]
CLICK HERE to read the police’s letter [Hebrew]
In the letter, Adalah Attorney Adi Mansour argued that holding the demonstration does not require the approval of the police or the issuance of a permit, and thus, the police’s decision lacked authority is, therefore, illegal.
The next day, it was agreed that the demonstration would be moved to a nearby location and be held an hour and a half ahead of schedule. However, during the protest, the police demanded that the protesters stop waving the Palestinian flag and, after they refused to do so, police officers arrested them and detained them for several hours in the Haifa police station.
A statement issued by the Haifa police explicitly stated that the activists were arrested because they refused to put down the Palestinian flags. The police statement reads as follows: “During the demonstration, three protesters, including two residents of Haifa, ages 20 and 67, and a resident of Barkan, age 31, waved Palestinian flags. After they were told by the police commander at the scene that this might disturb public order and breach the peace and security of the public due to the thousands of people celebrating the ‘holiday of holidays’ there, they were instructed to put down their flags. When they didn’t do so, the police commander decided to detain them for interfering with a policeman and disrupting public order. The suspects were brought in for questioning at the police station in Haifa, and depending on the findings of the investigation, the police will consider whether to ask Haifa Magistrate's Court for an extension of [the protesters’] detention.” (emphasis added)
Attorney Mansour represented the protesters and secured their release several hours after.
Adalah responded:
“Waving the flag is not a crime under Israeli law. The Attorney General's directive clearly states that waving the Palestinian flag does not constitute a criminal offense or grounds for arrest, and this was confirmed by the Supreme Court. The attempt to criminalize the waving of the Palestinian flag under the pretense of “disruption of public order” is unfounded and a part of Israel’s ongoing project to delegitimize the Palestinian collective national identity and to prohibit lawful Palestinian political expression.”
