Israeli police have “launched an investigation into an incident during a Haifa demonstration in which protestors were seen throwing an Israeli flag to the ground and trampling on it”, reported Haaretz.
According to the paper, a video from Friday’s protest against the Israeli army’s killing of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip shows a protester “grabbing an Israeli flag…and throwing it to the ground. Another demonstrator then tramples on the flag to the cheers of his comrades”.
Since 2016, amended legislation has meant that “desecrating” the Israeli flag carries a maximum sentence of three years’ imprisonment, while the fine stands at 58,400 shekels ($16,435).
In September 2016, the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court convicted Ramle man Adel Amisis, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, of desecrating the flag, following a 2014 incident “in which two Israeli flags were spray-painted red in Jaffa, two days before Memorial Day and Independence Day”.
“In the modern world, the flag of the nation serves as the most outstanding symbol of the honour and unity of the nation,” wrote the judge, Shaul Avinor. “Undermining the honour of the flag is a clear offense to the public’s feelings”.
Gaza: Palestinians return to Israel border for 10th Friday in row
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