By EJP with JNS
A knife-wielding man has been charged with terrorism offences after attempting to break into the Israeli embassy in London’s Kensington Monday.
The Israeli foreign ministry in Jerusalem confirmed the incident, saying that an individual armed with a knife attempted to break into the Jewish state’s embassy in London “with the intent to carry out an attack” earlier this week.
“Local security forces prevented the intrusion into embassy grounds and apprehended the attacker,” the ministry said, adding that “all embassy staff are safe and no damage was caused to the embassy.”
The 33-year-old man, Abdullah Sabah Albadri, was arrested and charged on Wednesday with preparing acts of terrorism and two counts of possessing a bladed article. He was due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
The Daily Mail cited police sources as saying that the man was wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh during the intrusion which occurred around 6 pm. He was wielding a knife and moved close enough to attack staff, the daily said.
“He managed to get very close to where staff members were, so naturally people were absolutely terrified,” one of the sources stated.
“They need to investigate exactly how someone was able to get that close—it is one of the most secure roads in the country and should be one of the most secure buildings,” the sources added.
An Embassy spokesperson, quoted by the Jewish News, said: “The Embassy of Israel will not be deterred by any terror threat and will continue to represent Israel with pride in the UK.”
Following the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in Israel, the National Security Council warned that “increased efforts have been detected on the part of Iran and its proxies, as well as on the part of Hamas and elements of global jihad, to attack Israeli and Jewish targets.”
The Islamic Republic of Iran is behind a series of terrorist attacks carried out by criminal gangs targeting Israeli embassies in Europe, including several in Sweden, the Mossad intelligence agency revealed last year.