An asylum seeker in Britain has reportedly been arrested over an alleged terror attack to seek vengeance for Gaza, however, further information has reportedly been withheld from the public, according to the Daily Telegraph.
A man who arrived as an asylum seeker in the United Kingdom in 2020 has reportedly been arrested for an alleged terror attack. He is said to have told police that he was motivated to carry out the attack “for Palestine” and to avenge Palestinians killed in the wake of the October 7th Hamas terror attacks on Israel that left over 1,200 dead. The man is currently in police custody.
Further information on the alleged terror attack, which came amid concerns of violence stemming from anti-Israel protests being held throughout Britain, has been withheld from the public, London’s Daily Telegraph reports.
Some of the details of the alleged attack are being withheld for legal reasons, however, a security source speaking to the paper suggested that authorities “may be downplaying it so that they don’t have repeat attacks or copycat attacks.”
British lawmakers have called for the public to be informed about the alleged attack, with former Conservative Party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith saying: “I think the public does have a right to know that something has happened. If they are worried about reaction, people need to know whether their streets are safe.
“It would be helpful to know these things are happening. I understand the sensitivities. The issue is whether people have a right to know whether things are going on on their streets. It needs to be carefully done but we need a greater level of clarity about whether we have a problem about extremists on our streets.”
When questioned on if he believed the reluctance to publish information on the alleged terror attack came as a result of reticence to link terrorism to immigration, the former Tory leader said: “All these things are connected. I understand the sensitivities but the police need to be clear if this was an attack by an extremist. We need to know that.”
Speaking to the paper, a senior counter-terror official also stressed the dangers of Britain’s mass migration policies: “It just illustrates the risk when you get stressed individuals coming from all parts of the world, including places where they will have participated in or witnessed savagery. It is linked to migration. As a result of full-scale migration, we are getting a lot of people.”
The alleged attack came amid suspected Islamist attacks in Belgium and France, with two Swedish men being shot to death in Brussels on Monday by an ISIS-inspired Tunisian migrant who had avoided multiple attempts from multiple countries to deport him back to his homeland in Africa. Just days prior, a French middle school teacher in the city of Arras was stabbed to death in another suspected Islamist attack by a migrant who had also successfully avoided deportation.
With countries throughout Europe on high alert amid the conflict in the Middle East between Hamas and Israel, national leaders have begun calling for reforms to the lax immigration systems in place in the EU. This week, the prime ministers of Belgium, France, Germany, and Sweden all called for stepped-up efforts to deport radicalised migrants.
On Saturday, the Times of Israel reported that an explosive device was set off outside the Israeli Embassy in the Cypriot capital of Nicosia. The attack, which was carried out with a homemade device, thankfully did not result in any injuries. Police in Cyprus have so far arrested four Syrian nationals on suspicion of involvement in the attack.
The director-general of MI5 Ken McCallum warned that terror attacks in Britain may occur due to the Gaza conflict, saying: “There is clearly the possibility that profound events in the Middle East will either generate more volume of UK threat and/or changes shape in terms of what is being targeted.”
A spokesman for the UK’s Counter Terrorism Policing force denied that the public has been “misled or that information has been deliberately withheld”, arguing that the alleged terror attack in Britain referred to by The Telegraph is “subject to active legal proceedings,” adding: “We have issued several public statements in relation to this matter previously.”
“We routinely share and publicise information about ongoing investigations, arrests and charges, through our online channels, and by updating the media direct. Communities defeat terrorism. Sharing information with the public and encouraging them to report anything that doesn’t feel right, is a vital part of our mission.”
Editor’s Note: This story was updated to reflect a revised number on the death toll from the October 7 Hamas attack in Israel. The Israeli government estimate of 1,400 was revised to around 1,200, according to Reuters.