Veterans have expressed outrage at a controversial new 'Palestine Poppy' which a group claims commemorates "ongoing genocide" in Gaza. The design of the 3cm metal badge with butterfly clutch back features three petal-like sections in the black, white and green colours of the Palestine flag. The three partitions are arranged around a red ring and a black central circle, similar to the design of the red poppy used as a sombre symbol for Britain's Remembrance Day commemorations since the end of World War I.
Sold on eBay for £1.78
Described by the creators as "a symbol of solidarity and remembrance for the ongoing struggle of the Palestinian people and their fight for justice", the poppy is now on sale for £1.78 on eBay. The website for the Palestine Poppy states it is being sold "not-for-profit" and that the price covers the cost of production and "a small donation towards charities working on the ground in Palestine".
A video on the site features the controversial slogan "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free". Some use the slogan as a chant calling for Palestinian control of all land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, including Israel, effectively calling for the destruction of the world's only Jewish state.
Veterans' criticism
Lt Sgt Stuart Crawford told GB News the poppies were "not at all appropriate", and accused the group of attempting to "hijack" the traditional remembrance symbol. He told the news channel: "In effect, it's trying to hijack [or] ride on the coat-tails of the familiar red poppy, and my reservations are two-fold," he explained. "The Remembrance poppy is avowedly apolitical despite what some misguided people might say, and commemorates our war dead by bringing people together in the act of remembrance.
"The so-called 'Palestine Poppy' is about as far away from remembrance as it's possible to be. It is unashamedly political, designed to divide rather than unite."
Sales and charity links
So far, the poppy has been purchased more than 1,400 times. One of those charities Palestine Poppy mentions benefiting from sales is Friends of Al-Aqsa, which was banned from Labour's conference after MPs raised concerns over the charity's values. The organisation's chair, Ismail Patel, had previously visited former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza, and was also filmed at a demonstration in 2009 declaring: "We salute Hamas for standing up to Israel." At the same rally, he said: "Hamas is no terrorist organisation."
Former Royal Navy officer Stuart Fawcett criticised the poppy, pointing to protesters scaling the Battle of Britain memorial during a pro-Palestine demonstration in London last week. "Now, we see them hijacking our national symbol of remembrance," he told GB News, "Nothing is sacred to this mob that makes a pursuit of distorting the truth."
The Royal British Legion describes the traditional red poppy as a symbol of "peace inclusive of all and importantly the red poppy raises funds to support our Armed Forces, veterans, and their families in their time of need." A spokesman for the charity said that "people are free to choose to wear different poppies". Express.co.uk has approached Palestine Poppy for comment.
