Vandals defaced the Paris office of Israeli airline El Al with 'Free Palestine' graffiti. French and Israeli officials condemned the act amid rising hate crimes in France.
The front of the Paris office of Israeli airline El Al was defaced with red paint and pro-Palestinian slogans like 'Free Palestine'. The act is being seen as a serious case of vandalism.
French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot criticised the incident, calling it hateful and unacceptable. “Acts of hatred and anti-Semitism have no place in our Republic,” he posted on X (formerly Twitter).
Israel’s ambassador to France, Joshua Zarka, also reacted strongly.
“It’s quite simply an attack, nothing more, nothing less, against an Israeli company, and against the state of Israel,” he told reporters.
This incident follows a rise in hate crimes in France after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel and the war in Gaza. In 2023, the country saw an 11% increase in racist, xenophobic, or religious hate crimes. However, the data did not show which groups were most targeted.
So far, there is no update from the Paris prosecutor's office about the investigation. No suspects or arrests have been announced.
