Wellington's mayor is defending his move to put the brakes on a Palestinian commemoration event.  

The Michael Fowler Centre was set to be lit up in the colours of the Palestinian flag tonight to mark Nakba Day ... which recognises the impact of a 1948 war with Israel.  

However, the capital's mayor vetoed it after MFAT expressed concerns about Israeli sensitivities. 

Andy Foster told Heather Du-Plessis Allan he was advised the event may offend people. 

“I thought ‘mmm this has got the potential to be controversial’ so I sought the advice from Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and they said ‘yeah, your call but please, please, please don’t do it’.” 

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