Giant Palestinian flag raised, pulled down in Jerusalem’s Old City

Police and Jerusalem municipal inspectors removed an oversized Palestinian flag that was hung over a wall of Jerusalem’s Old City on Wednesday.

The flag, which featured the faces of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and PA President Mahmoud Abbas, was placed by an unknown person over the wall near the Damascus Gate on Wednesday afternoon.

One suspect was arrested, according to Hebrew media reports

Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion denounced the hanging of the flag, which he said challenged Israeli control of the city.

“The only sovereignty in Jerusalem is Israeli sovereignty.”

The incident came as the Fatah group headed by Abbas marked its 55th anniversary with marches in the West Bank and Gaza.

Similar marches are planned elsewhere in the West Bank in the coming days.

Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that police took down Fatah banners in several locations in the city, including the East Jerusalem neighborhoods of Silwan, al-Tur and Issawiyeh, and that two Fatah activists in the city were detained.

לפני חצי שעה, סמוך לשער שכם, שיא חדש של התרסה: דגל פלסטין ענק על חומת העיר העתיקה, עם תמונת הראיס המנוח יאסר ערפאת. pic.twitter.com/vyVSjWY08R

— יוני רוטנברג (@Yoni_Roten) January 1, 2020

Established by Yasser Arafat in 1965, Fatah led the armed struggle against Israel for decades as the main component of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Abbas has been seeking permission to allow East Jerusalem residents to vote in planned Palestinian national elections slated for later this year.

Israel has reportedly refused, since it would challenge its sovereignty over the city.