Massachusetts Town Debating Whether to Raise Palestinian Flag on Public Common

Elected leaders in a Massachusetts town are debating whether to approve a resident's request to have the flag of Palestine flown over the town common – and a meeting on the matter set for Monday night was called off amid flaring controversy.

The permit seeks to have the flag flown from Nov. 7 until Dec. 7, WCVB reported.

The North Andover Select Board was expected to take up discussion on the permit on Monday, but officials opted to cancel the meeting hours beforehand, citing "threats of litigation, as well as public safety concerns and space constraints."

According to a statement posted on the town's website, the local police chief and town manager advised the board to reschedule the meeting and send the flag permit to the town's attorney for review in the meantime.

Ahead of the scheduled meeting, the Merrimack Valley Jewish Federation had urged local members of the Jewish community to oppose the resident request, WCVB reported.

"The safety of our Jewish community, our heritage and our history is being challenged at an alarming rate," the group said in an e-mail to members. "We can not allow additional negative attention and risk the safety of our citizens."

According to WCVB, discussion over the permit comes as people around Massachusetts have continued mobilize support for both Israel and Palestine, including through demonstrations held over the weekend.

On Monday, humanitarian organizations working with the United Nations reiterated calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, where the death toll has surpassed 10,000 in Israel's retaliatory attacks on Hamas, the terror group that killed 1,400 Israelis in a surprise assault on Oct. 7.

The calls came as Israeli troops surrounded Gaza City on Monday morning and were poised to enter the besieged territory later in the day or sometime Tuesday.