French MEP removes Israeli flag in protest against Gaza genocide

STRASBOURG — French Member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan has removed an Israeli flag inside the European Parliament in Strasbourg. She said her action was a direct protest against the ongoing genocide in Gaza, breaches of international law, and institutional “double standards”.The incident occurred on Monday during an unofficial event organized alongside the American Jewish Committee (AJC).The “unofficial event was organized with the diplomatic representation of the State of Israel and the AJC, which has been called out for its promotion of colonization through trips by European deputies to the occupied territories,” Hassan wrote on social media platform X.She added that necklaces displayed at the event in Strasbourg featured a map of Israel encompassing Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories, which she said disregarded the EU’s longstanding diplomatic position.Hassan said Israeli artist Yaron Bob, who was invited to the event, denied the existence of Palestine and Palestinians during an exchange.”I quote: ‘Palestine does not exist. It is a chimera, like unicorns,’ then ‘there are no Palestinian refugees, nor Palestinians’,” she wrote.”As I was leaving, I removed the Israeli flag from its stand,” said Hassan. “My gesture is part of the denunciation of the ongoing genocide, of violations of international law, and of this incessant and unbearable double standard.”She argued that a Russian flag “would not be admitted” within the European Parliament’s premises, while Israel, which she said was represented through its diplomatic mission at the event, continued to benefit from “total impunity.”European Parliament President Roberta Metsola accused Hassan earlier Tuesday of damaging the exhibition and said that the incident was being treated “extremely seriously.””All appropriate steps according to our procedures are being taken,” Metsola told lawmakers during a plenary sitting.Hassan rejected accusations of vandalism or assault, explaining that the adjacent EU flag fell purely due to base imbalance when the Israeli flag was detached.”No flag was trampled, damaged, or thrown away,” she said.Hassan said she wrote to Metsola to present her account of the incident and asked her to follow up on journalists’ requests for the videos to be made public, arguing that a lack of transparency could fuel “fake news.”