Hate crime probe launched after woman filmed cutting down ribbons commemorating Israeli hostages
Police have launched an investigation into a possible hate crime after a woman cut down ribbons remembering the Gaza hostages.
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The woman was filmed cutting yellow ribbons with scissors in a street in Muswell Hill, north London, on the eve of the October 7 anniversary.
She was confronted and filmed by passers-by and said: “You’re not going to do this. I’m not committing a crime.
“If I am, call the police and you let them know that you have an issue with this.”
Onlookers called her actions “disgusting,” to which she replied: “I think condoning genocide is disgusting. That’s what this is.”
Read more: Starmer brands protests taking place on October 7 anniversary 'un-British'
A Met Police spokesman said officers were reviewing the video to see if any hate crime had been committed.
The yellow ribbon has become synonymous with the plight of those taken captive since its adoption during the 1979 US-Iranian hostage crisis.
Miranda Levy, an author and freelance journalist, recorded the woman as she systematically dismantled the tributes on Fortis green Road, north London.
She told The Telegraph: “I was walking to get a coffee, it was a lovely sunny day, and there was a woman very mechanically snipping away with a pair of scissors.
“I was angry, it is so insensitive.”
She added: “These ribbons are to remember people captured. Put up your own stuff but don’t take ours down.”
Heidi Bachram, whose husband’s relatives were murdered and taken hostage on October 7, said: “Pro-Pal cut down yellow ribbons in London and justified her repulsive act by saying they “condone genocide”.
“This is where lies lead. To dehumanise innocent hostages who are being starved and tortured in terror tunnels. Manchester didn’t make them pause at all.”
A spokesman for the Met Police said: “At approximately 4:25pm on Monday, 6 October, officers were made aware of a video circulating online which appears to show a woman removing ribbons from fence poles in Muswell Hill, Haringey.
“Officers have attended the location and are currently reviewing the footage to determine whether any offences, including hate crime or criminal damage, have been committed. Enquiries remain ongoing.”
It comes as Sir Keir Starmer urged pro-Palestine students not to protest on the second anniversary of the October 7 attacks, saying the UK will “always stand tall” against those who wish harm and hatred upon Jewish communities.