West Dunbartonshire council has come under fire for flying the Palestinian flag from a civic building.
Local authority bosses in West Dunbartonshire hoisted the banner over their main registry office in a show of solidarity.
However, the controversial stance has been branded “totally inappropriate”.
Jonathan Arkush, vice president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said: “They should remember that they are flying a flag from a British town hall in support of an organisation that is regarded across Europe and the world as terrorist.
“It is totally inappropriate. It is also destructive of relations between the communities.”
An estimated 1,200 Palestinians and 55 Israelis have been killed in the conflict. Israel launched its offensive in Gaza after a surge in rocket fire from the territory.
Hamas, which controls Gaza, has said it will not stop fighting until a blockade on the area, maintained by both Israel and Egypt, is lifted.
A spokeswoman for the council said: “The flag is not being raised in support of Hamas or the Israeli Army but to raise awareness of the suffering and deaths of over two thousand people in Gaza.
“The Council hopes that by flying the flag we can raise awareness of the suffering of the people of Gaza and hope there will be a ceasefire which can bring peace and stability to the people of Gaza.”
Mick Napier, of the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign, backed the move.
He said: “West Dunbartonshire continue to lead where other local authorities should follow. The council implemented a boycott of Israel during the last huge massacre in 2008-9.
“Their decision to fly the Palestine flag is yet again showing the way.
“We hope others will follow suit. It is the least councils can do during a time like this of massacre and apparent genocide.”
In London, Tower Hamlets’s Muslim mayor Lutfur Rahman sparked a storm of protest tonight after raising the Palestinian flag over the town hall ‘in solidarity with Gaza’.
While there have also been angry rows about Preston Town Council and Bradford Council flying the Palestinian flag.
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