The British newspaper “The Telegraph” said that the Israeli embassy in London accused a British advertising company of what it described as “caving in to terrorists” after it canceled an “awareness” campaign about Israeli detainees in Gaza.
The campaign launched by the embassy in conjunction with the so-called “Forum of Families of Hostages and Missing Persons” included pictures of people captured by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and still detained in Gaza.
The newspaper explained that the forum and the advertising company signed a two-week contract to run an advertising campaign on billboards in 10 locations throughout the British capital, including billboards in Brick Lane in east London, White City in the northwest, and Bermondsey in the south.
She finished it after 6 days
But the advertising company terminated the contract after only 6 days, according to the newspaper, and said that it had received an “unusual” number of complaints from the public.
She noted that she made her decision after discussions with the Metropolitan Police about community safety, adding that “while we are strong advocates of freedom of expression and seek to minimize censorship, we acknowledge the significant level of reaction the posters have provoked.”
The company continued to say that its primary goal was not to provoke or disturb the public, and therefore it considered removing the posters appropriate.
An unprecedented step
This unprecedented step sparked an angry response from the Israeli embassy, which said it was considering taking legal action.
The embassy said, in a statement, that it regrets that London Lights has succumbed to the threats of what it described as an “extremist minority” in the United Kingdom that is trying to limit freedom of expression by force, and that it is considering taking further steps against the company.
The statement added that the embassy “will continue to raise awareness about the 137 Israeli detainees who are still held hostage by Hamas in Gaza.”
She also said that this breach of contract was in the interest of “terrorists.”
In turn, the Forum for Families of Hostages and Missing Persons, which was established by the families of Israeli detainees following the Palestinian resistance attack (the Battle of Al-Aqsa Flood) on October 7, said that its campaign is not political, noting that many of the detainees are children, women and the elderly.
A temporary truce began last November 24, lasting 7 days, between the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and the Israeli occupation, mediated by the State of Qatar and Egyptian-American coordination, during which 80 Israelis were released, in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.
Since the end of the truce, the Israeli occupation army has continued to bomb Gaza, which has resulted, to date, in the deaths of more than 18,000, the injury of more than 50,000, and massive destruction in the besieged Strip.