From the very early years of statehood, Israel’s security agencies considered flags and displaying or not displaying them to be an issue of great import. Attitudes towards the Israeli and the Palestinian flags among the Palestinian public and its leadership were closely monitored inside Israel at first, and after 1967, in the occupied territories as well. Over there, Israel made sure to put into law that “no flags or national symbols may be displayed or affixed, except with permission from the military commander.”
Re: Display of Palestinian flag at the Jaffa School in Gaza
A report by the Shin Bet coordinator in the Gaza Strip describes a sequence of events that occurred at the Jaffa school in Gaza on November 3, 1968: the hanging of a homemade Palestinian flag by a student named Faiz and a demonstration staged by about 60 students. The report was forwarded to the police, who were asked to open an investigation into the case.
Re: Display of Palestinian flag at the Jaffa School in Gaza
About three weeks after the flag incident, the Gaza Station of the Israel Police reported the results of the investigation: After receipt of the report regarding the hanging of the Palestinian flag and the demonstration organized at the school, Faiz was arrested, along with a student named Ibrahim, who went out with the demonstrators and shouted: “We are all Fedayeen, down with imperialism.” A criminal case was opened against the two, and it was transferred to the military prosecutor’s office for a decision. The school caretaker, who had also been arrested, was released after it emerged that he had removed the flag from the wall.
Removal and Tearing of National Flags in the Village of Tira
On Independence Day, 1962, the Israel Police launched an investigation into the removal of 17 Israeli flags from public buildings in the village of Tira. With the help of the Shin Bet, suspects were located, and within three days, 15 people were arrested for 15 days. Following the investigation, another arrest was made, an 11-year-old boy, and the case was cracked.
Disconnection of a telephone line in the village of Silat al-Harithiya
Report by the Central Command about four terrorist attacks in the village of Silat al-Harithiya, north of Jenin. The attacks consisted mostly of the repeated disconnection of a telephone line and the display of a “Palestinian flag drawn on a page of a notebook.”