Pro-Israel lawyers have written to a London borough saying they believe it may be committing “criminal offences” by not removing Palestinian flags and stickers.
The lawyers have reportedly spoken to the Metropolitan Police over flags, stickers, and posters around the Tower Hamlets area. They say the items supposedly have “inflammatory messages”.
Tower Hamlets, which has one of the largest proportions of Muslims of any local authority, has seen a huge rise in Palestinian flags being flown from lampposts across the borough, reports The Telegraph.
Council leader Lutfur Rahman, who was previously barred from public office, took control of the authority in May 2022. The paper says he has a huge support among the local Muslim community.
Lawyers who have written to the Met believe Tower Hamlets could be in breach of planning laws by allowing the stickers and flags to remain. They say more should be done to remove any with slogans such as “Victory to the Intifida” or other “radical” messages.
In the letter to police, Jonathan Turner, chief executive of UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI), said: “Our attention has been drawn to serious concerns on the part of Jewish residents of Tower Hamlets regarding the proliferation of large Palestine flags on lamp-posts in public streets as well as posters and stickers with inflammatory content. These displays intimidate Jewish people and may encourage violence against them.”
Mr Turner reportedly says the Town and Country Planning Act says the owner or occupier of the land on which the flags, posters and stickers are displayed is liable for the criminal offences once it knows of their display – unless it takes all reasonable steps to secure their removal.
He believes a number of flags and stickers are being displayed on land owned by the council. He added: “The council has not taken all reasonable steps to secure the removal of flags, posters and stickers on its land and therefore has committed and is committing criminal offences.”
A spokesman for Tower Hamlets’ council said it is regularly reviewing the messages placed across the borough. It says it is removing any deemed offensive or racist.
A spokesman explained: “As one of the most diverse areas in the country, we are monitoring any community tensions closely with our Tension Monitoring Group, which includes the police and representatives from a broad range of community organisations.
“A number of Palestinian flags have been put up by the public in recent months. While we appreciate people want to express their support for Palestine, we have a routine responsibility to monitor and maintain council infrastructure. The situation is under regular review.
“Separately to Palestinian flags, the council will remove at the earliest opportunity any graffiti, posters or flags which are racist or generally offensive.
“We are not aware of any criminal offences related to Palestinian flags not being removed, and we will continue to work closely with police partners to manage the situation.”
