Overview
- Alex Sinclair, a 53-year-old Hebrew University lecturer, was detained in Modi'in on Monday after a call about his kippah showing both flags, and he says police later returned it with the Palestinian part cut out.
- Israel Police said he was brought to a station and released after a clarification process and did not confirm any damage to the religious head covering.
- Following Sinclair’s complaint, the Justice Ministry’s Police Investigation Department opened an inquiry, and police cited the probe in declining further comment.
- MK Gilad Kariv and civil-rights groups ACRI and Tag Meir condemned the officers’ actions and called for a criminal investigation, noting there is no blanket ban on displaying the Palestinian flag in Israel.
- The case fits a wider pattern of tighter action on Palestinian symbols since National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s 2023 order to remove such flags, raising concerns about limits on religious items and political speech.