Tensions between City Council members, and between councilors and the mayor, played out over several days before the flag raising.

Providence isn’t the only American city to have flown the flag. Last November, the city hall of Hoboken, New Jersey also raised the Palestinian flag despite controversy. That same month, a Palestinian flag-raising ceremony at the city hall of Regina, a Canadian city, was abruptly cancelled.

Tensions are high in downtown Providence Thursday after the city council president decided to raise the Palestinian flag above city hall.