Footage shows the moment an activist released live mice painted the colours of the Palestinian flag in a Birmingham branch of McDonald's.
The now-viral video, captured outside the city's Star City branch, shows a person taking a cardboard box of mice from the boot of a car bearing 'free Palestine' number plates.
The mice appear to have been painted red, green, white and black.
The man, wearing a Palestinian flag bandana, carries the box to the McDonald's entrance before throwing the mice inside.
Warning: The below video contains strong language
Throwing mice into a packed McDonald’s in London while shouting Free Palestine, will not— in fact— free Palestine. pic.twitter.com/eygATLRW8z
— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) October 30, 2023
A woman standing by a self-order screen is seen screaming and running away, as the painted mice scurry towards her.
The man can be heard shouting "f*** Israel" and "free f***ing Palestine".
Text that appears across the video urges people to boycott brands including McDonald's, after the chain donated food to the Israeli army.
The TikTok account where the clip was originally posted appeared to have been removed on Tuesday morning.
In the first week of the violence between Israel and Hamas, McDonald's Israel said on its social media accounts it had given thousands of free meals to Israel Defense Forces personnel.
On October 15 - eight days after Hamas' surprise October 7 incursion on Israel - the franchise stated again that it was donating meals, "to all those who are involved in the defence of the state, hospitals, and surrounding areas."
A McDonald's spokesperson told LBC: "We are aware of an incident in our Birmingham Star City restaurant this evening where a number of mice were released by a member of the public.
"Following the removal of the mice, the restaurant has been fully sanitised and our pest control partners have been called out to conduct a full inspection."
