Israel's new National Security Minister and leader of the far-right Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party Itamar Ben-Gvir said Sunday evening that he had ordered the police to suppress any attempts to display Palestinian flags in the country's streets. He claimed that the public display of the symbol, which has been used by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) since 1964, is linked to expressions of sympathies for terrorism.
"Today I instructed the Israeli police to enforce the ban on displaying any PLO flag that indicates identification with a terrorist organization in a public space and to stop any incitement against the State of Israel. We will fight terrorism and the promotion of terrorism with all our might!" the minister wrote on his Twitter page.
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu harshly criticized the actions of some opposition activists who showed up on Saturday for an anti-government rally in Tel Aviv. He drew attention to posters of protesters comparing one of the ministers of the new government to Nazis, and to Palestinian flags in the crowd of protesters. The prime minister called it "savage incitement" and demanded that such actions be stopped.
An opposition rally took place in downtown Tel Aviv on Saturday night, with up to 10,000 participants, according to organizers' estimates. They protested against the legal reform being pushed by new Justice Minister Yariv Levin. The proposed reform entails, in particular, limiting the power of the Israeli High Court of Justice over laws and government decisions as well as giving the government control over the selection of judges.
On December 29, 2022, Israel's parliament voted in a special session to trust the government formed by Netanyahu following the November 1 elections, in which right-wing and orthodox religious parties won a majority. The ministers and the new prime minister were then sworn in. On the same day, Netanyahu held the first meeting of the new cabinet.
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Based on materials from TASS