City of Edinburgh Council has said that Palestine-Saltire flags that have appeared in the centre of the city “will be removed in due course.”
The decision comes after Leaders of the British Jewish community — and hundreds of members of the public — emailed the council over concerns that the flags caused distress for Jewish citizens.
It also follows a similar motion, proposed by Councillor Chas Booth in October, to remove Saltire and Lion Rampant flags on Calder Road, over fears they were intended to intimidate migrants, inspired by the ‘Operation: Raise The Colours’ campaign.
At the time, a council spokesperson had said “attachments to street furniture can only be made with the permission of the council” and the email campaign about the flags argued “using council-owned property is not an automatic right.”
However, Glasgow City Cllr, Dan Hutchinson said he was “proud that [Glasgow] stands in solidarity with the victims of the Israeli Genocide” and noted that of the 257 emails he had received, none were from local residents.
Meanwhile, one University of Edinburgh student told The Student: “I think it’s a bit strange [that people felt distressed]; I think it’s a nice show of unity from the Scottish people.”
“Palestine flags” by theglobalpanorama is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.