Flag of Palestine

National flag of the State of Palestine

This article is about the flag used to represent the modern State of Palestine. For the flag used during the period of the British Mandate for Palestine, see Flag of Mandatory Palestine.

State of Palestine

Use| National flag
Proportion| 1:2
Adopted| 28 May 1964; 59 years ago (1964-05-28) (PLO)
15 November 1988; 35 years ago (1988-11-15) (State of Palestine)
Design| A horizontal tricolour of black, white, and green; with a red triangle based at the hoist.
Use| Presidential standard[1]
Proportion| 1:2
Design| A horizontal tricolour of black, white, and green; with a red triangle based at the hoist charged with the coat of arms above a golden wreath of laurel leaves in the fly end.
Use| State flag
Design| A horizontal tricolour of black, white, and green; with a red triangle based at the hoist charged with the coat of arms above two crossed white swords in the upper hoist corner.

The flag of Palestine (Arabic: علم فلسطين, romanized: ʿalam Filasṭīn) is a tricolor of three equal horizontal stripes (black, white, and green from top to bottom) overlaid by a red triangle issuing from the hoist. This flag is derived from the Pan-Arab colors and is used to represent the State of Palestine and the Palestinian people.

The Palestinian flag in its current form has been used in Palestine since the 1920s, which was based on the flag of the 1916 Great Arab Revolt, whose colors represent four Arab dynasties in history: Hashemite (red), Umayyad (white), Fatimid (green) and Abbasid (black). The flag featured during the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine and the 1987-1993 First and 2000-2005 Second Intifadas. It was officially adopted as the flag of the Palestinian people by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1964. The flag day is celebrated on 30 September,[2] and the flag is lowered on 2 November to lament the Balfour Declaration.[3]

After Israel occupied the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in 1967, it banned the Palestinian flag, which was lifted after the signing of the Oslo Peace Accords in 1993.[4] However, Palestinian flags are routinely confiscated by the Israeli police.[5] Israel's restriction on the Palestinian flag were criticized by Amnesty International as an attempt to "legitimize racism," adding that the Palestinian flag has been used for the past decades as "a symbol of unity and resistance to Israel’s unlawful occupation."[6] The use of the watermelon as a Palestinian symbol has appeared in the wake of Israel's restrictions of Palestinian flags.[5]

## Origin[edit]

Handing of the Palestinian Arab flag with a drawing of the Dome of the Rock over to Indian Muslim anti-colonial leader Shaukat Ali during his visit to Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine, 1931 Palestinian Arab flag over the Alhambra Cinema in Jaffa, Mandatory Palestine, 1937 Part of a series on

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The flag used by the Arab Palestinian nationalists in the first half of the 20th century is the flag of the 1916 Arab Revolt. The origins of the flag are the subject of dispute and mythology. In one version, the colours were chosen by the Arab nationalist 'Literary Club' in Istanbul in 1909, based on the words of the 13th-century Arab poet Safi al-Din al-Hili:

> Ask the high rising spears, of our aspirations
>  Bring witness the swords, did we lose hope
>  We are a band, honor halts our souls
>  Of beginning with harm, those who won't harm us
>  White are our deeds, black are our battles,
>  Green are our fields, red are our swords.

Another version credits the Young Arab Society, which was formed in Paris in 1911. Yet another version is that the flag was designed by Sir Mark Sykes of the British Foreign Office. Whatever the correct story, the flag was used by Sharif Hussein by 1917 at the latest and quickly became regarded as the flag of the Arab national movement in the Mashriq.[7][8]

Rebels posing with their rifles and a Palestinian flag emblazoned with a cross and crescent, during the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine

A modified version (changing the order of stripes) has been used in Palestine at least since the early 1920s[9] The Palestinian flag featured during the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine, being held in most villages and the rural areas which were declared as "liberated zones".[10] On 18 October 1948, the flag of the Arab Revolt was adopted by the All-Palestine Government, and was recognised subsequently by the Arab League as the flag of Palestine. The flag was officially adopted as the flag of the Palestinian people by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1964. On 1 December of the same year, the Executive Committee of the Liberation Organization established a special system for the flag specifying its standards and dimensions, and the black and green colors replaced each other.[11] On 15 November 1988, the PLO adopted the flag as the flag of the State of Palestine.[11]

On the ground the flag became widely used since the Oslo Agreements, with the establishment of the Palestinian Authority in 1993. Today the flag is flown widely by Palestinians and their supporters.[12][13][14]

## Bans in Israel[edit]

See also: Watermelon (Palestinian symbol)

An Israeli soldier grabs a flag from a protester in Huwara. Israeli police officer confiscate Palestinian flags from demonstrators in Sheikh Jarrah, September 2023

In 1967, immediately following the Six-Day War, the State of Israel banned the Palestinian flag in the occupied Gaza Strip and West Bank. A 1980 law forbidding artwork of "political significance" banned artwork composed of its four colours, and Palestinians were arrested for displaying such artwork.[15][16][17]

The ban was lifted after the signing of the Oslo Peace Accords in 1993.[4] Since 2014, Israeli police have had the authority to confiscate a flag if it is used in support of "terrorism" or disrupts public order;[4] however, Palestinian flags are routinely confiscated by the police.[5] In January 2023, Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir announced he had instructed the police to ban the flag's showcasing in public spaces.[18][4] Israel's restriction on the Palestinian flag were criticized by Amnesty International as an attempt to "legitimize racism," adding that the Palestinian flag has been used for the past decades as "a symbol of unity and resistance to Israel’s unlawful occupation."[6]

The use of the watermelon as a Palestinian symbol has come as a response to Israel's confiscation of Palestinian flags.[5]

## Similar flags[edit]

The flag is similar to that of Syria's Ba'ath Party, which uses the same shapes and colours but a 2:3 ratio as opposed to Palestine's 1:2, as well as the short-lived Arab Federation of Iraq and Jordan (which had an equilateral triangle at the hoist). It is also similar to the Flag of Sudan, the Flag of Jordan, and to the Flag of Western Sahara, all of which draw their inspiration from the Great Arab Revolt against Ottoman rule (1916–1918). The flag of the Arab Revolt had the same graphic form, but the colours were arranged differently (white on the bottom, rather than in the middle).

## Historical flags[edit]

* Flag used during the 1936–1939 Arab revolt

* Flag used by the Arab League to represent Palestine from 1945 to c. 1955[19]

* Flag used by the All-Palestine Government, the Flag of the Arab Revolt (with the changed order of colours the flag received in 1920)

* Flag from 1948 to 1964

* Version with shorter triangle, used by the Palestine Liberation Organization until the 1980s

* Flag used in some period of its history

## Construction Sheet[edit]

* flag construction sheet

## Color scheme[edit]

Colors scheme  | Red  | Black  | White  | Green

|
|
|
|

CMYK | 0-82-77-6 | 100-100-100-99 | 0-0-0-0 | 100-0-64-40
HEX | #EE2A35  | #000000  | #FFFFFF  | #009736
RGB | 238-42-53  | 0-0-0  | 255-255-255  | 0-151-54

### Interpretation of the colors[edit]

Scheme  | Textile colour

|

Red  | The Hashemite dynasty, symbolizes the blood on the swords of the warriors.
White  | The Umayyad dynasty, symbolizes purity and noble deeds.
Green  | The Fatimid dynasty, represents the fertile Arab lands.
Black  | The Abbasid dynasty, represents the defeat of enemies in battle.

## See also[edit]

* Coat of arms of Palestine
* Flag of the Arab Federation of 1958
* Flag of the Arab Revolt
* Flag of the Baʽath Party
* List of Palestinian flags
* Pan-Arab colors
* Watermelon (Palestinian symbol)

## Notes[edit]

1. ^ "Flags of the World".
2. ^ "Palestinians celebrate Flag Day marking two years since hoisting it at UN". WAFA Agency.
3. ^ "Palestinian flag to be flown at half mast to mourn Balfour Declaration". The Jerusalem Post | Jpost.com.
4. ^ a b c d Kellman, Laurie (9 January 2023). "Palestinian prime minister says Israel aims to topple the PA". The Associated Press. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
5. ^ a b c d "The Palestinian flag: A target for 'erasure' by Israeli forces".
6. ^ a b "Israel/OPT: new restrictions on Palestinian flags an attempt to 'legitimise racism'". Amnesty International. 11 January 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
7. ^ Sorek, Tamir (2004). "The orange and the 'Cross in the Crescent': imagining Palestine in 1929". Nations and Nationalism. 10 (3): 269–291. doi:10.1111/j.1354-5078.2004.00167.x.
8. ^ Easterly, William (2006). The White Man's Burden. New York: Penguin. p. 238\. ISBN 978-1-1012-1812-9. "A small sign of the artificiality of the Arab revolt is that Mark Sykes himself designed the flag of the Arabs as a combination of green, red, black, and white. Variations on this design are today the official flags of Jordan, Iraq, Syria, and the Palestinians."
9. ^ https://www.britannica.com/topic/flag-of-Palestine-Liberation-Organization#ref855177
10. ^ Baruch Kimmerling (2003). The Palestinian People: A History. Harvard University Press. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
11. ^ a b "العلم | مركز المعلومات الوطني الفلسطيني". info.wafa.ps.
12. ^ "United Nations Security Council: The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question". 2 June 2008. Archived from the original on 2 June 2008. Retrieved 20 May 2017.)
Mr. Terje Roed-Larsen, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Personal Representative of the Secretary-General: "[Arafat] with the trademark kaffiyeh epitomized Palestinian identity and national aspirations, even more than the Palestinian flag or the national anthem."
13. ^ "Palestine". Flags of the World. "The Palestinian flag represents all Palestinian Arab aspirations regardless of party."
14. ^ Efaw, Jamie. "Palestinian Psychological Operations: The First Intifada]". AmericanDiplomacy.org. "An example of a common, obvious symbolism came in the form of the Palestinian flag. [...] the flag and the colors transmitted the message to all target audiences the underlying theme of the entire Intifada—Palestinian nationalism. The flag, the symbol of Palestinian nationalism, was ubiquitous in the occupied territories."
15. ^ Kifner, John (16 October 1993). "Ramallah Journal; A Palestinian Version of the Judgment of Solomon". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
16. ^ Dalrymple, William (2 October 2002). "A culture under fire". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
17. ^ "The watermelon makes a colourful interlude". The Age. Melbourne. 12 September 2004.
18. ^ "Israel security minister bans Palestinian flag-flying in public". The Guardian. London. 9 January 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
19. ^ Breschi, Roberto. "Palestina". www.rbvex.it. Retrieved 25 July 2019.

## External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to National flag of Palestine.

* Palestine at Flags of the World
* The Meaning of the Flag at the website of the Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs

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