A group has created a “Palestine Poppy” to commemorate those killed in the conflict with Israel, sparking outrage among British veterans who have accused the organisation of “hijacking” a national symbol of remembrance.
Palestine Poppy describes their bespoke design as a “symbol of solidarity and remembrance for the ongoing struggle of the Palestinian people and their fight for justice”.
The poppy has a tri-symmetric, tri-petal design, as described on the website, and its colours match those of the Palestinian flag: a red central ring and border, with black, white, and green petals.
It is, the group says, a symbol of “unity with the beleaguered, oppressed, and occupied people of Palestine”.
A video on the organisation’s website also features the controversial phrase “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and accuses the world of “watching in silence”.
The slogan is controversial because it is interpreted by some as calling for the end of Israel as a Jewish state, while supporters say it is a call for Palestinian freedom and equality.
Around 12,000 Palestinians are estimated to have fought during the Second World War.
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.
“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.”
Buyers are encouraged to “wear the Palestine Poppy to show your support for a free Palestine”.
The poppy has so far been purchased more than 1,200 times.
The poppies can be bought on eBay for £1.74, with some of the proceeds going towards “charities working on the ground in Palestine, and organisations working to educate people about the region’s history and current situation, and bring about the end to the occupation and war crimes through legal routes”.
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One of those charities includes 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.”
Friends of Al-Aqsa also claimed the October 7 attacks were used by Israel as a “pretext to launch a genocidal war against the Palestinian people”.
A report commissioned by the Home Office on the charity described it as a “far-Left and Islamist” organisation.
Another charity that will receive funds from Palestine Poppies is The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians. The organisation was ordered to pay more than £82,000 in legal costs after it attempted to prosecute a dual British-Israeli man for serving in the IDF.
The judge dropped the case, describing it as legally baseless and politically motivated.
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 the People’s Channel.
“Nothing is sacred to this mob that makes a pursuit of distorting the truth.”
Palestine Poppy’s eBay account sells other symbolic items, such as the Srebrenica Flower, symbolising the 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys killed in the UN-protected enclave of Srebrenica in 1995, and a Sudan Secretary bird, which is inscribed with “Victory is ours”, and is a national symbol of Sudan.
Additionally, the eBay account sells an “Islamic black and white baby book” and various Islamic posters.
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”.
GB News has approached Palestine Poppies for comment.
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