Days after Home Secretary Suella Braverman wrote to England and Wale’s police department urging them to consider clamping down on the use of Palestinian flags at pro-Palestinian demonstrations, a leading discrimination lawyer has hit out at the secretary stating that it’s a basic human right.
Braverman, in a letter to chief constables of England and Wales had said: “It is not just explicit pro-Hamas symbols and chants that are cause for concern. I would encourage police to consider whether chants such as: ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ should be understood as an expression of a violent desire to see Israel erased from the world, and whether its use in certain contexts may amount to a racially aggravated section 5 public order offence.
“I would encourage police to give similar consideration to the presence of symbols such as swastikas at anti-Israel demonstrations. Context is crucial. Behaviours that are legitimate in some circumstances, for example the waving of a Palestinian flag, may not be legitimate such as when intended to glorify acts of terrorism”
Image: UGC
Leading Discrimination Lawyer, Yasin Patel reacting to Home secretary’s statement on Palestinian flag said: “The mere display of the Palestinian flag does not equate to supporting Hamas; it signifies support for the struggle of the Palestinian people to secure basic human rights and the right to live in the internationally recognized state of Palestine.”
Patel, invoking the example of Nelson Mandela: “Hamas is not synonymous with Palestine, and Palestine is not synonymous with Hamas.”
Addressing the concerns raised by the Home Secretary: “Carrying the Palestinian flag is a symbol of solidarity with the Palestinian people’s legitimate struggle for basic human rights and their right to live in the recognized state of Palestine.”
