British Green Party Leader Claims Israel Staged 'False Flag' Attacks

Zac Polonsky, the leader of Britain's Green Party, has claimed that there are "definitely examples" of "false flag" attacks staged by Israel. He defended his remarks by referencing the Hannibal Directive, a controversial protocol that has caused controversy within his party. Polonsky made the assertion during a summer podcast episode titled "Bold Politics," where he discussed navigating antisemitism on the left. He stated, "I want to be very clear: there are definitely examples where the Israeli government has used false flags."

The Hannibal Directive, officially canceled in 2016, was originally intended to prevent the capture of soldiers by enemy forces who might use them as bargaining chips. However, a 2024 report by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, which combats disinformation, found the directive at the center of false conspiracy theories. These theories alleged that Israeli forces killed more civilians on October 7 than Hamas did. A UN investigation from the same year also claimed the IDF killed over a dozen civilians, a claim Israel rejected.

Polonsky acknowledged that some on the left might "see false flags or conspiracy theories where we don't have evidence," warning that this undermines the genuine fight against antisemitism. "I can understand why people are angry. But when we make accusations, it must be based on evidence, otherwise we harm our own movement," he explained.

This is not the first time Polonsky has faced controversy. In May, he apologized after criticizing the police response to terror attacks in Golders Green, London. He had shared a social media post criticizing officers for kicking a suspect after he was tasered. The Metropolitan Police commander accused the Green Party leader of sharing an "inaccurate and misleading" post. The suspect was accused of stabbing two Jewish men and is scheduled to stand trial next year. Despite his apology, Polonsky refused to retract past statements implying that the Jewish community experiences only a "sense of insecurity" rather than a real threat, even after a series of attacks on synagogues and the arson of Jewish community ambulances in Golders Green.