Uttar Pradesh: Police in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh have arrested a Muslim man who had appealed on social media to hoist the Palestinian flag on homes and vehicles in a show of solidarity against the Israeli offensive on Gaza.
Azamgarh district’s senior superintendent of police Sudhir Kumar Singh told Al Jazeera that they have arrested the man, identified as Yasir Akhtar, after he posted a message on his Facebook page, calling residents in his Saraimeer village to display the flag after the congregational prayers on Friday.
“He was running a page and he made the message viral through Facebook that after Friday prayers, people should hoist the flags on their vehicles and homes,” Singh said, adding that “the man has been arrested and sent to jail.
“This is a congested area and multiple Muslim sects live here. Making a mass appeal post prayers could have resulted in violence. If he wanted to hoist a flag, he could have but calling others is not right. Many people opposed it, so we had to take action.”
More than 230 Palestinians, including at least 65 children, were killed in 11 days in the Gaza Strip as Israeli forces relentlessly bombed Hamas properties and residential buildings in the besieged, impoverished territory.
At least 12 Israelis were also killed after thousands of rockets were launched by Hamas, the group governing the Strip.
Israel’s military campaign had triggered huge solidarity protests across the world, with demonstrators calling for action against Israel for its violation of international law and sanctions to be imposed on it.
Early on Friday, the Israeli cabinet and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire, brokered by Egypt, to halt the 11-day conflict. Al Jazeera
