Flag of the Arab Federation arranged differently (white on the bottom, rather than in the middle). Flag of the Arab Federation In 1958, in response to the merger of Egypt and Syria in the United Arab Republic, the two Hashemite kingdoms of Iraq and Jordan established the Arab Federation, a confederation of the two states. The flag of the union was essentially that of Jordan but without seven pointed star in the red chevron. This flag is identical to the Flag of Palestine adopted in 1964, and almost identical the flag of the Ba'ath Party. The union lasted less than six months, being terminated by
United Arab Republic with Syria, favoring instead a federal union. However, Nasser was "more afraid of a Communist takeover" and agreed on a total merger. The increasing strength of the Syrian Communist Party, under the leadership of Khalid Bakdash, worried the Syrian Ba'ath Party, which was suffering from an internal crisis from which prominent members were anxious to find an escape. Syria had had a democratic government since the overthrow of Adib al-Shishakli's military regime in 1954, and popular pressure for Arab unity was reflected in the composition of parliament. When on 11 January 1958 al-Bizri led a Syrian delegation composed of military