Sheffield City Council to review policy after Israeli flag backlash

A council has said it would review its policy on town hall flags, but has refused to apologise for hoisting the Israeli flag after a backlash.

A protester scaled Sheffield Town Hall last month and replaced the flag with a Palestinian one.

The council said the flag was an act of solidarity after Hamas launched an attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip.

Leader Tom Hunt said he recognised "it caused hurt for some people" but an apology risked causing further hurt.

Sheffield City Council flew the Israeli flag days after dozens of Hamas armed fighters crossed into Israel from Gaza in a surprise attack, killing more than 1,400 people and taking more than 220 hostages.

Mr Hunt said the decision was made before Israel launched retaliatory airstrikes, which Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry said had so far killed more than 9,000 people.

In a video clip shared online, people could be heard shouting "take it down" and cheering as the Israeli flag was lowered from the 200ft town hall by a protester.

It also prompted a petition, which gathered more than 1,300 signatures, calling on the council to apologise for its actions. The petition was presented to the authority at a meeting of the full council where Mr Hunt responded to it.

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The leader explained the UK government had asked local authorities to consider flying the Israeli flag on public buildings to show solidarity.

He said the flag was flown "to show solidarity with the victims" of the Hamas attack and was not about "taking sides in a decades-long conflict", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

He added: "The decision was taken in good faith and of course, I and others have reflected on it over the last few weeks as the horror of what we have seen in Israel has been replaced by the horror we have seen in Gaza.

"It was right to show solidarity but I recognise that this act of solidarity caused hurt for some people."

Mr Hunt said the council would review its flag protocol and added: "Flying the flag was not a straightforward decision and it has prompted a range of responses and heartfelt emotions."