Amnesty International: Banning the raising of the Palestinian flag violates human rights

Al-Anbat-Lima Zeitawi 

"The decision by Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir to ban the flying and waving of the Palestinian flag inside the 1948 territories is a cowardly and predictable attempt to obliterate the identity of a person and is contrary to UN conventions and human rights," said Amnesty International.

Amnesty International is a global movement of more than 10 million people in more than 150 countries and territories.

The organization pointed out that the poll conducted by it indicates that the incitement against the Palestinian flag by Israeli politicians and organizations over the past years has met with great success in instilling fear in the hearts of most Jews when they see it.

She noted that the poll confirmed that more than 80% of those who raise the Palestinian flag mean to express their national identity or to protest against Israel's policy of racial discrimination against them.

"This behavior has been known since the dawn of history in repressive and dictatorial regimes around the world, and the repression of freedom of expression for a particular minority is just the beginning and a prelude to the oppression of minorities and other vulnerable groups and the confiscation of their right to expression," she said.

Amnesty International called on the Israeli authorities to retract his instructions, warning that these instructions constitute a clear violation of Articles 2, 7, 19, and 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and UN charters, which constitute a cornerstone of international law.

Rami Haidar, spokesman for the organization, said, "The instructions to implement the ban on raising the Palestinian flag in the public sphere in a sweeping manner and to abolish professional and legal standards fall within the scope of collective punishment on racist grounds."

Haidar expressed his deep regret about this, saying: "We previously expected such cowardly steps to obliterate the identity of the Palestinian people, starting with an attempt to obliterate their national symbols and prevent them from expressing their national identity and belonging, but we are confident that they will fail, as dozens of similar attempts have failed for more than seven decades."

"We are confident that this is just one of a series of steps that the new Israeli government will take to legitimize apartheid." Preventing freedom of expression in this way may lead to other prohibitions and restrictions, such as a blanket ban on any protests by Palestinian citizens of Israel.

"Besides freedom of expression on the issue of science and the right to protest, it is important to note that in the occupied territories there is one law for Jews and a separate law for non-Jews, and the apartheid regime considers apartheid a crime against humanity."

"At Amnesty International, which monitors abuses around the world, we know for sure that this behavior characterizes all types of repressive regimes around the world." We know very well that the suppression of freedom of expression by one group is a prelude to the repression of other groups. "Currently, the Israeli authorities are exploiting today's fear of the Palestinian flag in favor of banning its hoisting, and this may gradually lead to other repressive steps."

The following is a brief illustration of articles 2, 7, 19, and 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

Article 2: Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in the present Declaration, without distinction of any kind, in particular as to race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, or other status. Furthermore, discrimination may not be made on the basis of the political, legal, or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether independent, a trust, non-self-governing, or subject to any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 7: All persons are equal before the law and are entitled to equal protection of the law without discrimination, as well as from any discrimination that violates the present Declaration and from any incitement to such discrimination.

Article 19: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive, and impart news and ideas through any medium and regardless of frontiers.

Article 20: (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

(2) No one shall be compelled to belong to an association.