Police quiz woman over Israeli hostages ribbons

A woman has been interviewed by police after a video circulated online of yellow ribbons dedicated to Israeli hostages being cut down from a fence.

The ribbons, which symbolise calls for a return of the hostages taken by Hamas on 7 October 2023, were put up in Muswell Hill, north London, ahead of the two-year anniversary of the attacks in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 hostages taken.

Ben Paul, who put up the ribbons, previously told BBC London their removal was "morally repugnant".

The Met Police said a 36-year-old woman voluntarily attended a police station on Tuesday and was interviewed under caution. The incident is being treated as racially aggravated criminal damage.

When challenged as she cut the yellow ribbons from the fence on Fortis Green Road, the woman in the video said she was committing no crime, and when she was described as "disgusting", she replied: "I think condoning genocide is disgusting."

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said on Tuesday that officers were carrying out "reassurance patrols" in the Muswell Hill area.

The yellow ribbons were put up ahead of the anniversary of the Hamas attacks

Speaking in the aftermath of the removal of the ribbons, Mr Paul said: "It's all about hostages, human beings. I don't care what your politics are: this is a simple tale of morality."

It is thought 48 Israeli hostages remain in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to be alive.