Tensions erupt in EU Parliament over 7 October memorial

The exhibit, orchestrated by German MEP Hildegard Bentele and the Israeli embassy, transformed the Strasbourg chamber into a flashpoint. Beyond the banners, the display included maps erasing the Occupied Palestinian Territories and artifacts fashioned from Israeli missile debris. For critics, the installation served as a political provocation rather than a solemn act of remembrance, particularly given the absence of any acknowledgment regarding the tens of thousands of Palestinian casualties since the hostilities began.

Hassan, the parliament's only Palestinian representative, argued that the institution would never permit a Russian flag under similar circumstances. Her protest—which resulted in the accidental toppling of the EU banner—highlighted the widening chasm between shifting political narratives in Brussels. While organizers maintained the focus was on the victims of the initial Hamas-led attack, reports that a guest artist involved in the project claimed Palestine does not exist further inflamed the atmosphere, leaving the assembly struggling to reconcile conflicting histories and mounting regional trauma.