Sheffield City Council has said it will carry out a full review after protesters last night removed the Israeli flag and hoisted a Palestinian flag in its place.
The city council displayed the flag in solidarity with the State of Israel after the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis over the weekend and took over 100 hostage.
In a video that has circulated online, an individual can be seen removing the Israeli flag and replacing it with the Palestinian flag while protestors on the ground chanted, ‘Free, free Palestine’.
Palestinian supporters came out in numbers today to attend a march in Sheffield city centre.
— Sheffield Online (@onlinesheffield) October 10, 2023
After the council decided to raise the Israel flag on top of townhall, one of the supporters climbed on top of the townhall and replaced the flag with the Palestinian flag. #Sheffield pic.twitter.com/qc4qDZLMIH
Israel, which occupies the West Bank and controls the borders of Gaza with Egypt, has killed over 1,000 Palestinians and injured more than 5,100 since the weekend.
Leader of Sheffield City Council Cllr Tom Hunt said: ‘Everyone has the right to safe and peaceful protest but we cannot support the events that took place during the protest outside Sheffield’s Town Hall. Protestors put themselves and others in serious danger. We are a City of Sanctuary, and this is not what we stand for.
‘There are strong feelings about the situation in Israel and Palestine but we ask everyone to show respect and tolerance at this time.’
