The Palestinian flag has been raised outside a local council in an area home to one one of Australia’s largest Muslim populations sparking controversy as Australians Jewish leaders slam the ‘incomprehensible’ move.
The flag was raised located in a suburb home to one of Sydney’s largest Muslim communities has raised the Palestinian Flag outside the council building.
The flag was hoisted outside the chambers of Bankstown Council, in Sydney’s west on Wednesday afternoon.
Canterbury-Bankstown Councillor Khodr Saleh took to Facebook to announce the move had been made to raise the flag.
A flag of Palestine (pictured centre) has been raised outside Bankstown council in Sydney’s west on Wednesday afternoon
‘The Palestinian flag is now flying high outside the Council Chamber in Bankstown’s Paul Keating Park,’ Cllr Saleh Saleh wrote.
‘This is for the children of Gaza. Ceasefire now. Free Palestine.’
The picture shows the Palestinian flag raised up to the top of the flag pole which stands between two Australian flags in front of the Council Chambers, which overlooks Paul Keating Park.
Locals can be seen standing and walking near the poles with all three flags raised to the top.
The move comes after Mr Saleh, who is a Labour Councillor put forward a motion on Tuesday evening at Canterbury-Bankstown Council calling for the flag of Palestine to be flown from both the precinct.
The motion passed unanimously on Tuesday night in favour of allowing the flag to be flown in a bid to support Palestinians in the ongoing war between Hamas and Israel which began on October 7.
Some councillors were absent at the time the motion for the proposal was passed.
Users were quick to comment on Cllr Saleh’s post on Wednesday, praising the move to support Palestinians.
‘Thank you Cr Khodr for validating the feelings of the residents you represent in Canterbury-Bankstown, as we mourn the innocent lives lost. Free Palestine,’ one user wrote.
‘Great work,’ wrote another.
Daily Mail Australia contacted Cllr Saleh for comment.
Canterbury-Bankstown Councillor Khodr Saleh (pictured) took to social media on Wednesday afternoon to announce the Palestinian Flag was raised after a motion was passed on Tuesday night, allowing the flag to be raised
He has previously said that a space at the park should be created to allow the community to pay their respects to those who have died in the conflict.
The space would allow locals to lay wreaths and place flowers at the site.
He took to social media on Tuesday after the motion to raise the flag was passed to heap praise on Canterbury-Bankstown council becoming ‘the first city in Australia to do this’.
He said there there was a ‘bias’ amongst the Australian government towards Israel ‘in its ongoing aggression on Gaza’.
‘Tonight we proved that our city is not only the multicultural capital – but the capital of humanity!’ he wrote.
‘Thank you to all the community and fellow councillors for your support. Free Palestine’
Cllr Saleh said the flag should be raised until a ceasefire was declared in the conflict.
Cllr Saleh (pictured) has also proposed a space at Paul Keating Park to be created to allow locals in the community to commemorate those that have lost their lives in the war between Hamas and Israel
The proposal was condemned by several Jewish leaders in Australia.
Australian Jewish Association president Dr David Adler said it was ‘incomprehensible that any civilised people could support a gesture at this time’.
‘This would be akin to flying the German flag after Kristallnacht or the Japanese flag after Pearl Harbour,’ he told The Daily Telegraph.
He accused the Bankstown-Canterbury Council of showing a ‘complete lack of empathy for the Jewish community’.
Hamas launched the terror attacks against Israel on October 7, killing at least 1400 Israelis during the raid.
Israel claims it launched around 400 airstrikes on Tuesday with officials claiming dozens of targets had been hit in the aerial bombardment.
The strikes have killed more than 700 people along the Gaza strip leaving hospitals on the verge of complete collapse with essentials such as food, water and medical supplies cut off from the Gaza border.
Israel claims it launched 400 airstrikes on Tuesday as hundreds of people in Gaza were killed in the aerial bombardment launched by Israeli officials over the last couple of days
The bloodshed in the middle-east has lead to a rise in tensions across the world including in Australia, as Palestinian protestors swarmed Sydney’s Opera House (pictured) two weeks ago and chanted anti-Semitic slogans
The bloodshed in the in the Middle East has fanned the flames of division across the world, including in Australia.
Two weeks ago, a pro-Palestine rally in Sydney’s CBD descended into chaos when protesters were allowed to chant anti-Semitic slogans and burn the Star of David in front of Sydney’s Opera House.
The demonstration was hijacked by radical Muslims – some wearing black masks – who threw lit flares at police and chanted ‘f*** Israel’ and ‘f*** the Jews’ beneath the steps of the iconic harbouside venue.
At one point, there were even chants of ‘gas the Jews’ – a horrifying echo of the fate of millions of Jewish people under the Nazi regime.