“This is a clear sign that Belfast City Council is a cold house for Protestants/Unionists.”
The Orange Order has claimed that Belfast City Council is “a cold house for Protestants and Unionists” after a decision to fly the flag of Palestine on City Hall.
The flag was raised after midnight on Tuesday after councillors voted for the move during a meeting on Monday evening.
The decision prompted a legal challenge by unionists, with judge Mr Justice Michael Humphreys hearing arguments in Belfast High Court on Tuesday on a bid to have the flag taken down pending a fuller hearing on whether the council followed correct procedures.
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The judge has since rejected the legal bid to remove the Palestinian flag that has been erected on Belfast City Hall.
A Sinn Fein motion to raise the flag was passed by 32 votes to 28 on Monday evening.
An Alliance Party amendment that proposed illuminating the City Hall in the colours of Palestine in January instead of raising the flag was earlier defeated by 49 votes to 11.
The council voted by a larger majority last month to fly the flag on City Hall on November 29 to mark the UN international day of solidarity with the Palestinian people.
However, that did not occur after the council received legal advice following a unionist move to initiate a call-in mechanism for the proposal to be reconsidered. A special meeting of the council was held on Monday to discuss the matter again.
While Sinn Fein welcomed the outcome of the vote, unionists expressed anger.
In a statement issued this afternoon, the Belfast County Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland said: “This County Grand Orange Lodge of Belfast is frustrated and utterly dismayed at the events surrounding the motion to fly the Palestinian Flag on 2nd December 2025 brought forward by Sinn Fein at a Belfast City Council meeting on 1st December 2025.
“The motion was successful by a majority vote of 32 for and 28 against. Following the motion debate, a legal challenge was progressed by Unionist Councillors, however no credence was given to this, and the flag was flown in the dead of night at 12.01am.
“This is incredibly alarming and shows that the Republican and Pan Nationalist members of Belfast City Council are supporting division and disregarding the legal process, opting instead to railroad through motions at the cost of alienating the Unionist community of Belfast.
“This is a clear sign that Belfast City Council is a cold house for Protestants/Unionists. This County Grand Orange Lodge welcomes the unified stance of the Unionist Political parties on this issue.
“No further comment will be made.”
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