Pro-Palestine protesters covered the lights at Auckland Museum with red and green cellophane and illuminated the building in the colours of the Palestine flag last night. 

People were encouraged to “bring keffiyehs, flags, cars, posters and voices” in a social media post that went up shortly before the gathering in front of the Auckland Museum. 

“Let’s cover the museum lights with red and green cellophane to illuminate the building in the colours of Palestine,” the post read. 

Another post on former Twitter plaform X showed a photo of the museum bathed in green and red with the comment: “Since the museum wasn’t willing to light up in the Palestinian colours, we did it ourselves. Free Palestine is the forever motto.” 

The move came after the Auckland Museum covered the same lights with blue cellophane in support of Israel in October. This drew criticism, with pro-Palestine supporters “blacking out” the museum lights. 

That prompted museum chief executive David Reeves to apologise and acknowledge the depth of feeling around the issue. 

“We wanted this to be an expression of hope for peace – our approach was wrong, and I personally apologise for the distress and hurt caused to members of our community,” Reeves said at the time. 

“I am carefully reviewing and reflecting on all of the feedback we have received and as a War Memorial Museum we continue to hope for deeper understanding and a peaceful resolution to conflict.” 

The museum confirmed the protest but would not comment further. 

“We can confirm that a number of people covered the museum’s lights yesterday evening. If you are seeking further comment, please contact NZ Police,” a spokesperson said in a statement. 

Police have been approached for comment.