An Israeli police officer confiscated a Hungarian flag from a protester during a demonstration in Israel last week on the grounds that it bore too much resemblance to a Palestinian flag , and that it could cause "provocation".
The protester was taking part in anti-government demonstrations in the Karkur junction in Haifa , northern Israel, when a police officer approached him to question him about the flag, he told Haaretz .
The protester said he proceeded to explain that the flag was Hungarian and not Palestinian, to which the officer replied with: "You may understand that, but others won’t."
The protester said he could put the flag away in his vehicle, but the officer refused and confiscated it without providing a substantial reason for the decision, he explained to Haaretz . The demonstrator added that the police said he could retrieve it afterwards once the protest ended.
While the Hungarian flag features hues of green, red, and white, its shades are different from the ones featured in the Palestinian flag . Additionally, the first stripe of the Palestinian flag is black, contrary to the Hungarian one, which is red. The Palestinian flag also includes the distinctive red-coloured triangle in the hoist. Hungary has been a close ally to Israel under the rule of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, regularly vetoing potential EU sanctions against it amid the genocidal war in Gaza. Orban was defeated earlier this month in parliamentary elections however.
Although no law in Israel explicitly prohibits raising the Palestinian flag, Israeli police have routinely removed it from public spaces under the pretext of "public security" over the years.
In early 2023, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir ordered the police to remove Palestinian flags from public spaces, claiming they were "symbols of terrorism". This led to an increase in confiscations and arrests, despite the controversy surrounding their legality.
At the time, Amnesty International described the Ben-Gvir-led directive as "an audacious attack on the rights to nationality, freedom of expression, and freedom of peaceful assembly".
In 2024, however, the police’s legal advisory ruled that officers are not allowed to confiscate signs at demonstrations, "even if they contain critical or provocative messages," Haaretz said. This, however, has not prevented the removal of Palestinian flags or symbols by the police.
Last Saturday, hundreds of people demonstrated in various locations in Haifa, including the Karkur Junction, to protest the devastating war against Lebanon , according to Israeli media. These demonstrations come amidst growing internal criticism in Israel of the government's policies, particularly regarding its handling of the war and its consequences.
A week earlier in the same location, Israeli police confiscated and broke a sign which read "Two states for two peoples - Israel and Palestine," before arresting the protester over "incitement".