The flag of Palestine ( ar, علم فلسطين) 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
The Pan-Arab colors are black, white, green and red. Individually, each of the four Pan-Arab colors were intended to represent a certain aspect of the Arabs and their history.
The black represents the Black Standard used by the Rashidun Calip ...
and is used to represent the
State of Palestine
Palestine ( ar, فلسطين, Filasṭīn), Legal status of the State of Palestine, officially the State of Palestine ( ar, دولة فلسطين, Dawlat Filasṭīn, label=none), is a state (polity), state located in Western Asia. Officiall ...
and the
Palestinian people
Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
. It was first adopted on 28 May 1964 by the
Palestinian Liberation Organization
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ar, منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية, ') is a Palestinian nationalist political and militant organization founded in 1964 with the initial purpose of establishing Arab unity and s ...
. The flag day is celebrated on 30 September.
The flag is almost identical to that of the extinct
Hashemite
The Hashemites ( ar, الهاشميون, al-Hāshimīyūn), also House of Hashim, are the royal family of Jordan, which they have ruled since 1921, and were the royal family of the kingdoms of Hejaz (1916–1925), Syria (1920), and Iraq (1921 ...
Kingdom of Hejaz
The Hashemite Kingdom of Hejaz ( ar, المملكة الحجازية الهاشمية, ''Al-Mamlakah al-Ḥijāziyyah Al-Hāshimiyyah'') was a state in the Hejaz region in the Middle East that included the western portion of the Arabian Penins ...
and to that of
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
's
Ba'ath Party
The Arab Socialist Baʿath Party ( ar, حزب البعث العربي الاشتراكي ' ) was a political party founded in Syria by Mishel ʿAflaq, Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-Bītār, and associates of Zaki al-ʾArsūzī. The party espoused B ...
(both use 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 very similar to the
Flag of Jordan
The flag of Jordan, officially adopted on 16 April 1928, is based on the 1916 flag of the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire during World War I. The flag consists of horizontal black, white, and green bands that are connected by a red chevr ...
and to the
Flag of Western Sahara
The flag of Western Sahara (Arabic: علم الصحراء الغربية, also known as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic) uses a national flag consisting of a black, white and green horizontal tricolor charged with a red star and crescent i ...
, all of which draw their inspiration from the
Arab Revolt
The Arab Revolt ( ar, الثورة العربية, ) or the Great Arab Revolt ( ar, الثورة العربية الكبرى, ) was a military uprising of Arab forces against the Ottoman Empire in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. On t ...
against
Ottoman rule (1916–1918). The
flag of the Arab Revolt
The flag of the Arab Revolt, also known as the flag of Hejaz, was a flag used by the Arab nationalists during the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire during World War I, and as the first flag of the Kingdom of Hejaz.
History
It has been s ...
had the same graphic form, but the colours were arranged differently (white on the bottom, rather than in the middle).
In 2021, President
Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud Abbas ( ar, مَحْمُود عَبَّاس, Maḥmūd ʿAbbās; born 15 November 1935), also known by the kunya Abu Mazen ( ar, أَبُو مَازِن, links=no, ), is the president of the State of Palestine and the Palestinian Natio ...
approved the annual
lowering
In phonology and phonetics, raising is a sound change in which a vowel or consonant becomes higher or raised, meaning that the tongue becomes more elevated or positioned closer to the roof of the mouth than before. The opposite effect is known ...
of the flag to lament the
Balfour Declaration
The Balfour Declaration was a public statement issued by the British government in 1917 during the First World War announcing its support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine, then an Ottoman regio ...
.
Origin
![Jaffa Alhambra Cinema03562ucroped](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Jaffa_Alhambra_Cinema03562ucroped.jpg)
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 Arab Revolt ( ar, الثورة العربية, ) or the Great Arab Revolt ( ar, الثورة العربية الكبرى, ) was a military uprising of Arab forces against the Ottoman Empire in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. On t ...
. 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
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
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
Al-Fatat or the Young Arab Society ( ar, جمعية العربية الفتاة, Jam’iyat al-’Arabiya al-Fatat) was an underground Arab nationalist organization in the Ottoman Empire. Its aims were to gain independence and unify various Arab t ...
, 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
Hussein bin Ali al-Hashimi ( ar, الحسين بن علي الهاشمي, al-Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī; 1 May 18544 June 1931) was an Arab leader from the Banu Hashim clan who was the Sharif and Emir of Mecca from 1908 and, after proc ...
by 1917 at the latest and quickly became regarded as the flag of the Arab national movement in the
Mashriq
The Mashriq ( ar, ٱلْمَشْرِق), sometimes spelled Mashreq or Mashrek, is a term used by Arabs to refer to the eastern part of the Arab world, located in Western Asia and eastern North Africa. Poetically the "Place of Sunrise", the n ...
.
On 18 October 1948, the flag of the Arab Revolt was adopted by the
All-Palestine Government
, image =
, caption = Flag of the All-Palestine Government
, date = 22 September 1948
, state = All-Palestine Protectorate
, address = Gaza City, All-Palestine Protectorate (Sep.–Dec. 1948) ...
, and was recognised subsequently by the
Arab League
The Arab League ( ar, الجامعة العربية, ' ), formally the League of Arab States ( ar, جامعة الدول العربية, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world, which is located in Northern Africa, Western Africa, E ...
as the flag of Palestine. A modified version (changing the order of stripes) has been used in Palestine at least since the late 1930s and was officially adopted as the flag of the Palestinian people by the
Palestine Liberation Organization
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ar, منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية, ') is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist political and militant organization founded in 1964 with the initial purpose of establ ...
(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.
On 15 November 1988, the PLO adopted the flag as the flag of the
State of Palestine
Palestine ( ar, فلسطين, Filasṭīn), Legal status of the State of Palestine, officially the State of Palestine ( ar, دولة فلسطين, Dawlat Filasṭīn, label=none), is a state (polity), state located in Western Asia. Officiall ...
.
On the ground the flag became widely used since the Oslo Agreements, with the establishment of the
Palestinian Authority
The Palestinian National Authority (PA or PNA; ar, السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية '), commonly known as the Palestinian Authority and officially the State of Palestine, in 1993. Today the flag is flown widely by
Palestinians
Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
and their supporters.
Ban
In 1967, immediately following the
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...
, the State of
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
banned the Palestinian flag in the occupied
Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...
and
West Bank
The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
. A 1980 law forbidding artwork of "political significance" banned
artwork
A work of art, artwork, art piece, piece of art or art object is an artistic creation of aesthetic value. Except for "work of art", which may be used of any work regarded as art in its widest sense, including works from literature ...
composed of its four colours, and Palestinians were arrested for displaying such artwork.
Since the signing of the
Oslo Peace Accords
The Oslo I Accord or Oslo I, officially called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements or short Declaration of Principles (DOP), was an attempt in 1993 to set up a framework that would lead to the resolution of th ...
in 1993, the ban has been abolished.
The flag is regularly confiscated by Israeli police.
Historical flags
Construction Sheet
Color scheme
See also
*
Coat of arms of Palestine
The coat of arms of Palestine may refer to the emblem used by the State of Palestine and Palestinian National Authority (PNA) or to the emblem used by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
Official description
The government of Palestine ...
*
Flag of the Arab Federation of 1958
*
Flag of the Arab Revolt
The flag of the Arab Revolt, also known as the flag of Hejaz, was a flag used by the Arab nationalists during the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire during World War I, and as the first flag of the Kingdom of Hejaz.
History
It has been s ...
*
Flag of the Baʽath Party
*
List of Palestinian flags This is a list of flags of the State of Palestine (including preceding flags of the Palestinian Authority and PLO).
National flag
Historical Flags
Proposed flags
See also
*List of flags of Israel
References
{{Lists of flags
...
*
Pan-Arab colors
The Pan-Arab colors are black, white, green and red. Individually, each of the four Pan-Arab colors were intended to represent a certain aspect of the Arabs and their history.
The black represents the Black Standard used by the Rashidun Calip ...
Notes
External links
*
The Meaning of the Flag at the website of the Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palestinian Flag
Arab nationalist symbols
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
National symbols of the State of Palestine
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...