- South Yorkshire Police have shared pictures of two men they are trying to trace
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Police are hunting two men who scaled Sheffield town hall and pulled down the Israeli flag during a pro-Palestine rally, in what is now being treated as a hate crime.
Shocking footage of the incident, which took place last month in the days after Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, shows a hooded man shuffling along the ridge of the roof, around 60 metres off the ground.
After reaching the mast the man, along with another protester who was wearing a black t-shirt, pulled down the flag before successfully raising the Palestinian banner in its place.
Gathered crowds celebrated and cheered as the blue and white banner was thrown to the floor, with Palestine supporters cheering the men who then climbed down and absconded.
South Yorkshire Police are still searching for the perpetrators and are now treating the incident as a hate crime – investigating it as a racially aggravated public order offence.
South Yorkshire Police has shared images of the two men detectives would like to speak to in connection with the incident
Shocking footage shows a hooded man shuffling along the ridge of the roof of Sheffield’s council building
A protester threw the Israeli flag to the ground before putting up the Palestine flag in its place, to cheers from the crowd
Video shows one of the men, who is wearing a grey hoodie, shuffling along the ridge of the roof, around 60 metres off the ground
The force has shared images of the two men detectives would like to speak to in connection with the incident.
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A force spokesperson said: ‘Officers are investigating the incident as a racially aggravated public order offence contrary to the Public Order Act and are treating it as a hate crime as we continue our enquiries.
‘Since the incident officers have carried out a range of different lines of enquiry.
‘We are now asking for the public’s help to identify the two people in the images as we believe they could assist with our enquiries.’
At the time of the incident, Sheffield City Council leader Cllr Tom Hunt said he ‘cannot support’ what happened as ‘protestors put themselves in serious danger.’
He 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.’
The suspect pulled the flag down before replacing it with the Palestinian one
The incident happened on October 10, just three days after Hamas terrorists stormed a festival and villages on the Israel-Gaza border and butchered hundreds of people.
Israel says 1,400 people were killed in the bloody invasion while around 240 hostages were taken.
Since then, around over 10,000 people are said to have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, from Israel’s relentless bombing campaign in the territory.
