Knesset advances opposition bill banning Palestinian flags at state-funded institutions

The Knesset has advanced through a preliminary reading an opposition bill banning Palestinian flags from being hung at state-funded institutions.

The vote is 63 for and 16 against, with lawmakers from the New Hope and Yamina parties — including Prime Minister Naftali Bennett voting alongside opposition MKs.

Although Palestinian flags have sometimes been prohibited or confiscated by police, they are not illegal. The legislative push, which began ahead of Sunday’s nationalist Jerusalem Day Flag March, follows criticism of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev after Palestinian flags were displayed during a recent rally at the school in Beersheba.

Responding to the criticism, the university noted in a statement that the events showed that students from all segments of Israeli society at the campus were able to “hold a variety of opinions and views.”