|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
French European Parliament Member Rima Hassan stripped the Israeli flag from an October 7th memorial in Strasbourg on Monday, two days before the third anniversary of the Hamas massacre.
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said on Tuesday that video showed a member appearing to damage the exhibit. “The person concerned was seen allegedly throwing the flag of Israel to the ground, dropped a flagpole and the European Union flag was knocked down. Both flags were left lying on the ground before the member left the scene,” she said.
“All appropriate steps” would be taken against the offender, Metsola added, without mentioning Hassan by name.
“We cannot have damage to property,” Metsola said. “And we cannot have attempts to intimidate rather than to debate. At a time of rising global antisemitism, we owe it to Europe’s Jewish community to ensure that when they look to us they see that this is their House too.”
Hassan’s office confirmed the far-left France Unbowed (LFI) lawmaker “removed the Israeli flag from its stand” and claimed the EU flag toppled by accident. It framed the move as a protest against the “ongoing genocide being perpetrated by the Israeli government.”
Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) Executive Director of European Affairs Shannon Seban denounced Hassan, saying, “Removing the Israeli flag from a memorial to the victims of October 7 is an affront to their memory. Rima Hassan’s conduct betrays the values she was elected to uphold. She does not deserve to represent France in the European Parliament, and her actions warrant the strongest condemnation.”
Earlier this year, Hassan was questioned by French police after she shared a social media post that appeared to justify a 1972 terrorist attack at Israel’s main international airport.
In 2025, the Syrian-born Hassan participated in two flotillas that sought to breach Israel’s naval blockade of the Gaza Strip, which is ruled by Hamas, an EU-designated terrorist organization.
SHOCKING 🇪🇺 European Parliament, Strasbourg | Oct. 5, 2026: Multiple MEPs report witnessing Rima Hassan, far-left French member of the European Parliament, trampling the Israeli flag at the exhibition honoring the victims and hostages of the October 7 massacre. pic.twitter.com/etZTFjsK1V
— Combat Antisemitism Movement (@CombatASemitism) October 6, 2026
Read more:
Paris Police Ban Anti-Israel Demonstration Planned in French Capital on October 7th Anniversary
