Today, Wednesday, the Israeli Knesset approved, in its preliminary reading, a law banning collective raising of the Palestinian flag, suppressing protests, carrying out arrests, and imposing prison sentences on demonstrators if they raise the Palestinian flag.

The proposed bill submitted by Knesset member Almog Cohen of the "Otzma Yehudit" party was supported by 54 Knesset members, against 16 members.

If the law is passed in the three readings, it prohibits every stop or demonstration during which the Palestinian flag or “enemy flags” are raised by at least 3 people, while allowing the implementation of arrests and the imposition of a prison sentence on anyone who raises the Palestinian flag.

According to the "Arabs 48" website, the draft law prohibits protests during which the Palestinian flag is raised by at least 3 demonstrators, and imposes a prison sentence of up to one year. It also allows the police to disperse these protests and make arrests.

And it was stated on the website of the Hebrew newspaper “Haaretz” that the powers to prohibit the raising of the Palestinian flag in public places are granted to the Inspector General of Police according to the police order, according to which he may do so as long as the flag is “a symbol for which disorder is disturbed.” However, this order is subject to To the appreciation of police chiefs.

It is noteworthy that the law proposal was previously presented during previous sessions in the Knesset, as it was presented earlier in the current session by Knesset member for the "Likud" May Golan, before she was appointed as a minister in the occupation government.

For its part, the "Adalah" Center stated that "the police officers who prevent flags from being raised in demonstrations and carry out arrests for raising flags, exceed their powers and do not act in accordance with the law."

Adalah believes that "the current law is more extreme than the commitment in the government coalition agreements with Otzma Yehudit, because it aims to impose criminal penalties for raising the flag in public places and not only in government-supported institutions."