Saar condemns vandalism of October 7 memorial in EU Parliament

Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned European Parliament member Rima Hassan on Tuesday after she vandalized an exhibit commemorating the victims of the October 7 massacre, installed in the Parliament building to mark three years since the attack.

Saar called Hassan's actions "shameful, brazen, but sadly not surprising." He said the vandalism of the October 7 memorial by Hassan, a member of the radical left, "says above all how little respect she has for the institution itself in which she serves."

The Foreign Minister thanked MEPs who immediately condemned the act and expressed gratitude to European Parliament President Roberta Metsola "for her determination and for making clear that such a violation will be dealt with in the harshest way."

The incident took place Tuesday morning after a memorial installation for the October 7 victims was set up in the European Parliament building in Strasbourg. The exhibit, which includes photographs and objects related to the massacre, was an initiative of Hildegard Bentele, chair of the Parliament's delegation to Israel, and featured Israeli artists who came to the site, including survivors of the attack.

Eyewitnesses reported that a woman began speaking with people at the memorial station, then left and returned with Hassan, a French MEP of Palestinian origin, considered part of the Parliament's far-left wing. According to the reports, Hassan took Israeli flags that had been placed in the installation and threw them on the floor. A complaint has been filed against the MEP following the incident.