Last night, it was claimed that a suspected terror attack in Britain was carried out by an asylum seeker who allegedly sought to avenge the deaths of people in Gaza. The man, who arrived in the UK in 2020, reportedly told the police that he committed the act for ‘Palestine’, as per The Telegraph.
The suspect, currently in custody, reportedly confessed to authorities that he committed the offense due to Israel’s alleged killing of children in Gaza. The revelation of the attacker’s motivation has raised concerns among senior politicians, who question why this information was not disclosed to the public. These concerns arise amidst warnings that pro-Palestine protests scheduled for this weekend may potentially incite lone-wolf attacks. This incident follows a recent tragedy in Brussels, where a gunman claimed on social media to be acting on behalf of Islamic State when he killed two Swedish football fans.
Earlier this week, Ken McCallum, the director-general of MI5, cautioned that the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas could potentially incite terrorist attacks in Britain. He expressed concern that significant developments in the Middle East may lead to an increase in the level of threat faced by the UK, as well as a potential shift in the nature of targets.
Following the terrorist attack carried out by Hamas on October 7, the Metropolitan Police’s online counter-terrorism unit has received nearly 1,400 referrals. Out of these, more than 100 cases have been thoroughly investigated to determine if any violations of the Terrorism Act have occurred. CST, the antisemitism charity, has reported a total of 533 anti-Semitic incidents in Britain since the commencement of the war in Israel.
