Enlarge image
Israeli Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir at a cabinet meeting
Photo: POOL / REUTERS
Israel's new minister of national security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, had recently caused tensions with a controversial visit to the Temple Mount.
Now there is a new arrangement with further potential for conflict.
At the behest of Ben-Gvir, Palestinian flags should no longer be displayed in public places.
"I have given orders to remove the flags that support terrorism from public spaces and to stop incitement against the State of Israel," the far-right politician wrote on Twitter.
According to media reports, it is still unclear whether the order is legal.
Hanging and displaying the Palestinian flag is not strictly prohibited in Israel.
However, the flags may be removed if they "endanger public order".
The Israeli authorities have regularly exercised this right in the past.
There are always confrontations.
Whole new punitive measures against Palestinians
The reason for the order is an incident from last week: Palestinian flags were waved during celebrations for the release of a Palestinian in northern Tel Aviv.
The man was convicted of killing an Israeli soldier in 1983.
A few Palestinian flags could also be seen at a demonstration against the new government in Tel Aviv over the weekend.
Israel's new right-wing religious government announced a series of punitive measures against the Palestinian Authority on Friday.
The background to this was the approval of the UN General Assembly for an examination by the International Court of Justice of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, which has been ongoing since 1967.
The application was submitted by the Palestinians.
In 1967, Israel conquered the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights in the Six-Day War.
The UN classifies the areas as occupied.
The Palestinians want them for their own state.
The peace process between Israel and the Palestinians has been idle since 2014.
mrc/dpa