Security cameras caught French member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan knocking down an Israeli flag Tuesday at an exhibit commemorating the Hamas-led Oct. 7 massacre of Israelis, leaving both the Israeli flag and the EU flag lying on the floor. The MEP is under investigation for the incident.

Hassan defended herself, saying she did not intentionally knock down the EU flag but that it fell after she pulled down the Israeli one.

“I did not touch the European flag. It simply fell after the Israeli flag,” she said under questioning by the president, Roberta Metsola.

Hassan’s staff issued a statement saying that Hassan “removed the Israeli flag from its stand. The European Union flag, attached to the same base, then accidentally fell due to the loss of balance. Neither flag was trampled or damaged.”

“Our action was part of denouncing the ongoing genocide being perpetrated by the Israeli government,” but was “in no way aimed at the people this event sought to honour, nor at their memory,” it added. “It is entirely possible — as we did with our group — to commemorate the victims of October 7 without associating ourselves with the genocidal Israeli state.”

Metsola denounced the action at the European Parliament.

“We take this extremely seriously,” she said. “This house is a place where all of us must feel safe and secure, and we reject, in the strongest possible terms, any action by any person that feels or makes anyone feel less protected here … we cannot have actions that could make people fearful of speaking. We cannot have damage to property, and we cannot have attempts to intimidate rather than to debate.”

The president added that at the Oct. 7 commemoration event, the victims would be remembered with the “dignity that they deserve.”

“So, at a time of rising global anti-Semitism, we owe it to Europe’s Jewish community to ensure that when they look to us, they see that this is their house too. So, tomorrow we will mark another anniversary since that Black October 7 three years ago, and on your behalf, I will speak at the event, and we will remember the victims with the dignity that they deserve.”

Hassan joined the flotilla to Gaza that attempted to break the blockade. She was detained by the Israeli authorities and deported.

The European Jewish Congress fiercely condemned Hassan for her action, saying it was “appalled” and calling on the EU to conduct a full investigation.

“This goes far beyond political disagreement or provocation,” the group stated on X. “These flags formed part of a memorial to the victims of the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust and to those abducted by Hamas. To deliberately interfere with such a memorial, on the eve of the anniversary of the attacks, would show a profound contempt for their memory and for the suffering of their families.”

“We call on the Parliament to establish exactly what happened, make the relevant evidence public and, if the allegations are confirmed, take appropriate disciplinary action. The victims of October 7 and the hostages deserve dignity and respect. Their memory must never become a target for political provocation,” the EJC said.