The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) first adopted the flag on May 28, 1964, to represent the people of Palestine. On November 15, 1988, the organization made it the flag of the Palestinian State. The three colors appear in the order of black, white, and green from top to bottom. The height of the red triangle is a third of the fly length, and its construction hardly varies even when a different proportion of the flag is used. The state ensign of Palestine bears the emblem of the nation, a small shield in the colors of the national flag carried by the Arab Eagle. The bird stands on a scroll with the word Palestine written in Arabic, and the insignia is supported by two crossing swords.
The current flag of Palestine draws its inspiration from the flag of the Arab Revolt of 1916. Each of its four colors symbolizes a dynasty or era in the history of Arabs. The meaning of the colors can also be drawn from the literary work of an Iraqi poet named Safi Al-Din Al-Hilli, which he composed in the 14th century. The poet wrote that white represents the deeds of the Arab people, black stands for their battles; green symbolizes their fields, while red signifies their swords.
Sharif Hussein, the Sharif and Emir of Mecca who led the Hashemite Arabs against the Ottoman rule, is credited with designing the flag of the Arab Revolt in 1916, from which the current flag of Palestine originated. However, other sources mention a British diplomat called Sir Mark Sykes as the designer of the flag used by Arab nationalists during the revolt. The British were allies of the Hashemites in the war against the Ottoman Empire. After World War 1, the flag influenced the national flags of many emerging Arab states including Palestine, Jordan, Libya, Yemen, and the United Arab Emirates.
The All Palestine Government founded in 1948 used a flag similar to that of Arab Nationalists during the 1916-1918 revolt. The flag was identical to the current one in design, with the only difference being the arrangement of its colors. The white stripe was placed on the bottom and not in the middle as it is presently. Palestine has used its current flag from 1964 with only a few alterations. The modern version of the flag of Palestine was adopted in 2006 after minor modifications on the design of the 1964 flag. The adjustment included increasing the height of the triangle from a quarter to one-third of the fly length.
This page was last modified on May 1st, 2018
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