A city in Massachusetts flies the Palestinian flag at local city hall

In North Andover, a city in Massachusetts, the Palestinian flag will fly for a month at the local city hall. This proposal was approved by the city, which wanted to do something to show its support for the Palestinian cause ever since Saturday, October 7, when Hamas coordinated a massive attack against southern Israel.

Local media reported that the city, which is located north of Boston and has a population of 30,000 people, decided to fly the Palestinian flag on the city hall's flagpole. The flag is next to the U.S. flag and the memorial flag of the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia.

Student request

According to the New York Post, the city council allowed the flag to be flown at the request of a university student, Selma Khayal, who asked for the city's consideration on October 16. The student's request was accepted just six hours before the local board changed its flag-raising policy and regulations.

Before this modification, city residents could petition to have any flag raised after approval by the Select Board. After the latest updates, the flagpole will no longer be a space for public expression and instead will be "limited to statements of governmental speech only."

The rule change is due to a court ruling that required the city of North Andover to use the flagpole only for neutral displays without controversial political content. Otherwise, it could only be used to amplify the city council's views.

The decision goes against the city's new policy

According to the updated policy, "It is the policy of North Andover that its flag poles located at the Town Common are not intended to serve as a forum for free expression by the public, but rather as expressions of the town’s official sentiments."

However, despite the city's new policy, the Palestinian flag was raised even though the country elected a Hamas majority in its legislative bodies. The city council's decision to raise the flag sparked controversy and criticism from several citizens. There were several interruptions at the city council's meeting and some people had to be escorted out.

The local network WCVB reported statements from representatives of the North Andover Jewish community who said that the Palestinian flag represents "hatred, terrorism and antisemitism because Hamas is the chosen party."