Unknown vandals desecrated the Wall of the Righteous, a memorial for the French citizens who risked their lives to save Jews during the Second World War, at the Mémorial de la Shoah Holocaust museum in Paris.

The vandals, who wore hoods to conceal their identities, painted dozens of blood-red hands on the memorial, photographs from the scene show.

The Shoah Memorial stated, "We are outraged by this cowardly and hateful act, regardless of the perpetrators and the meaning of these red hands."

The police have been informed of the vandalism and a hate crime investigation is underway.

Israeli Ambassador to France Joshua Zarka said in response to the vandalism of the Holocaust memorial, "The symbolism of the red hands echoes the lynching of two Israelis in Ramallah by Palestinian terrorists 24 years ago."

"The message here is clear, it does not express: 'liberate Palestine,' it means 'Death to the Jews and their supporters.' There is no other message there," he said.

"Those who manipulate these 'activists' know the symbolism of reddened hands and who they send it to. Those who are manipulated by this filthy propaganda think they are campaigning for the 'liberation' of the Palestinians.

We also have a message to convey to them: The Jews of the diaspora and their friends have experienced worse than these small-footed soldiers. We are still standing, and this uninhibited antisemite will neither make us… blush nor lower our heads," Zarka said.

The World Jewish Congress stated, "The antisemitic vandalism of the Shoah memorial in Paris is absolutely shameful. Our societies need to wake up and understand the meaning and intentions behind these actions."