South Yorkshire Police is asking the public to help identify two protestors from last week.
Footage shared on social media on Tuesday showed a man on the roof of Sheffield Town Hall, removing the banner and replacing it with a Palestinian flag.
The free Palestine protest was one of many that have taken place in Sheffield City Centre this month.
People could be heard shouting “take it down” and cheering as the Israeli flag was lowered in Sheffield.
South Yorkshire’s mayor Oliver Coppard condemned the acts, saying they did not “reflect the values of the region”.
The flag outside Rotherham Town Hall was also “forcibly” removed and the flag pole damaged, the council said.
Officers in Sheffield have released CCTV images of two men they would like to speak to in connection with the incident in Sheffield.
It is being investigated as a racially aggravated public order offence contrary to the Public Order Act and police are treating it as a hate crime as they continue their enquiries.
https://x.com/BBCSheffield/status/1721481573533364275?s=20
South Yorkshire police released a statement this morning:
‘Since the incident officers have carried out a range of different lines of enquiry. We are now asking for the public’s help to identify the two people in the images as we believe they could assist with our enquiries.’
‘If you can help, you can pass information to the police via our new online live chat, our online portal or by calling 101. Please quote incident number 501 of 10 October 2023 when you get in touch. You can access our online portal here.‘