LONDON, May 1 (Reuters) – British police charged a 45-year-old man with two counts of attempted murder on Friday following an attack during which two Jewish men were stabbed in Golders Green, north London, in what officers have called a suspected terrorist incident.
Following the attack, officials raised the national terrorism threat to its second-highest level, meaning a terrorist attack is highly likely within the next six months.
The stabbings followed a spate of incidents targeting Jewish premises in the same area of north London, home to a large Jewish population, prompting British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to vow stronger action to protect Jewish people.
Pro-Palestinian marches due to take place in the future could now face new restrictions amid widespread calls for more protection for Britain’s small community of about 290,000 Jews.
Attempted Murder Charges
Police said Essa Suleiman was charged with two counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of a bladed article in a public place in relation to Wednesday’s attack, which left a 34-year-old man and a 76-year-old man in hospital.
Suleiman, a British national who was born in Somalia, was also charged with attempted murder in relation to a separate incident earlier on the same day in south London.
He has been remanded in custody and is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court later on Friday.
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Police said the 34-year-old has now been released from hospital while the 76-year-old victim remains in a stable condition.
Growing Security Threat
Interior minister Shabana Mahmood said Britain has been experiencing a growing terrorist threat for some time and the increase to the threat level was not solely in response to the stabbing incident.
There are mounting security concerns linked to foreign states, which the government said had helped fuel violence, including against the Jewish community, where synagogues and Jewish ambulances have been the target of arson, some of which have been claimed by Iran on social media.
Some commentators looking at the rise in antisemitic incidents in Britain say that the pro-Palestinian marches which have become commonplace since the October 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel that triggered the Gaza war, have generated hostility and become a focus for antisemitism.
Police said on Friday they would look at pro-Palestinian protests due to take place in the capital in the coming weeks to assess whether further restrictions are necessary.
“We’ll do everything we can do to maximize the sense of safety in London,” Metropolitan Police chief Mark Rowley told the BBC.
Police do not have the power to ban protests outright, but can impose restrictions on their movements.
(Reporting by Sarah Young in London and Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; additional reporting by William James, Editing by Christian Schmollinger, William James and Alex Richardson)
