Israeli flag pulled down after protester scales Sheffield town hall

Police are hunting a protester who allegedly committed a hate crime by scaling a 200ft town hall to pull down an Israeli flag. The incident happened on the same day the Home Secretary urged the police to consider treating pro-Palestine chants and other behaviours intended to “glorify acts of terrorism” as hate crimes after Hamas’s attack on Israel. “I will be writing to the Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police today to urge her to take action against any who have committed what the Home Secretary has said may amount to racially aggravated offences.” Her letter to Lauren Poultney demanded an urgent investigation into the protest. “I would encourage police to consider whether chants such as ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ should be understood as an expression of a violent desire to see Israel erased from the world, and whether its use in certain contexts may amount to a racially aggravated Section 5 public order offence,” she said. She said “context is crucial”, adding: “Behaviours that are legitimate in some circumstances, for example, the waving of a Palestinian flag, may not be legitimate such as when intended to glorify acts of terrorism.” A police statement said: “Officers attended reports of public order at the Town Hall on Sheaf Street in Sheffield this evening at around 6:20pm.