European President taking 'extremely seriously' allegations French-Palestinian MEP overturned Israeli and EU flags

Live Blog Update| War on Iran 6 October 2026 12:25 BST The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, stated on Tuesday that she was taking "extremely seriously" the accusations that MEP Rima Hassan of the La France Insoumise (LFI) party had overturned Israeli and European flags the previous day at an exhibition commemorating the October 7 attacks in Israel. "A member of this Assembly was filmed apparently vandalizing an exhibition commemorating the victims of the terrorist attack perpetrated in Israel on October 7," she declared in the plenary chamber. "We are taking this matter extremely seriously and all appropriate measures provided for in our procedures are being taken, including respecting the right of the person concerned to be heard," she added. Rima Hassan has already offered an explanation "shortly after the incident," her office stated. Upon leaving the exhibition, "Rima Hassan removed the Israeli flag from its stand. The European Union flag, attached to the same base, then unfortunately fell due to the imbalance. No flag was trampled or damaged," according to the statement sent by email to AFP. "Our action is part of the ongoing condemnation of the genocide perpetrated by the Israeli government," but was "in no way intended to honor the people this event was meant to commemorate, nor their memory," they added. Reporting by AFP