Strasbourg: A left-wing French EU lawmaker faced an investigation on Tuesday after the Israeli and European Union flags were allegedly thrown to the floor at a commemoration for the 2023 Hamas attack that preceded the Gaza war.
European Parliament president Roberta Metsola said she took “extremely seriously” the allegations made against Rima Hassan, a Palestinian-origin lawmaker with the France Unbowed (LFI) party, following an event on Monday marking three years since the October 7, 2023 attack.
“A member of this house was filmed apparently damaging an exhibition commemorating the victims of the terrorist attack in Israel on October 7th,” Metsola said in a statement.
“I want to underline that we take this extremely seriously and that all the appropriate steps according to our procedures are being taken, including the right of the person concerned to be heard,” she told lawmakers.
“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.”
Hassan’s staff said in a statement she had explained the events shortly after the controversy.
While leaving the exhibition venue, Hassan “removed the Israeli flag from its stand. The European Union flag, attached to the same base, then accidentally fell due to the loss of balance,” said the statement sent to AFP.
“Neither flag was trampled or damaged,” it said.
“Our action was part of denouncing the ongoing genocide being perpetrated by the Israeli government,” but was “in no way aimed at the people this event sought to honour, nor at their memory,” it added.
“It is entirely possible — as we did with our group — to commemorate the victims of October 7 without associating ourselves with the genocidal Israeli state,” Hassan told the EU parliament on Tuesday.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar criticised Hassan over the alleged incident.
“Shameful, outrageous but sadly not surprising. The desecration of the exhibition commemorating the victims of October 7 at the European Parliament by radical-left MEP Rima Hassan says above all how little respect she has for the very institution in which she serves,” Saar wrote on X.
Hassan was on a flotilla that attempted to reach Israeli-besieged Gaza last year and was among activists detained and later expelled by Israeli authorities. –Agencies
