The DUP has condemned protestors who interrupted a Derry City and Strabane District Council chamber meeting holding Palestinian flags.
A meeting of Derry and Strabane Council was interrupted on Wednesday by protesters who criticised the council for not implementing a boycott of Israel and Israeli linked companies.
The protestors, some with their faces covered, held a banner saying: “Expel the Israeli Ambassador.”
The ‘s’ letters on the banner were written like the symbol of the SS, a Nazi military unit.
The protesters said they wanted Derry and Strabane Council to fully implement a motion to boycott Israeli goods.
A PSNI spokesperson said it was making inquiries over “an online video of a verbal altercation at a meeting in the Guildhall”.
The Derry DUP group has said the protest raises “significant questions … for both the Chief Executive of the Council and the Mayor following the incident.”
In a statement the DUP Group said: “At the Council meeting, a large number of protestors, some with their faces covered, gained access to both the public gallery and the floor of the Council chamber itself.
The DUP said: “There was no attempt by the Mayor to challenge or restrict the activities of the protestors.
“A number of the protestors appeared to enter the chamber through an entrance not accessible by the general public,” they said.
“All this occurred despite DUP Councillors raising concerns about potential intimidation of elected representatives following an incident after last month’s meeting.
“There are significant questions for the Chief Executive of the Council to answer about the approach taken to the safety of elected representatives, whilst the Mayor needs to explain her approach.”
A Derry City and Strabane District council spokeswoman said “a grouping” had entered the public gallery and the council had suspended standing orders, with the meeting being subsequently adjourned.
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