Two women face charges of terrorism-related crimes after they displayed images believed to be supportive of Hamas at a protest in London, British police said, and police warned of possible radicalization as a result of the conflict between Israel and Gaza.
Tensions have worsened in Britain and other countries since Hamas’ attack on Israel last month and Israel’s response in Gaza. Tens of thousands of protesters participated in pro-Palestinian marches, demanding that the British government call for a ceasefire.
The two women allegedly put stickers on their clothes with images of paratroopers at a protest in London on October 14. They have been charged under the Terrorism Act and are scheduled to appear before Westminster Magistrates Court in London on November 10.
The Crown Prosecution Service said that the photos “raised reasonable doubts that they were supporters of a banned organisation, specifically Hamas.”
Dominic Murphy, commander of the Metropolitan Police’s counter-terrorism unit, said the public was concerned about “some people using the guise of legitimate protest to carry out criminal or even terrorist activities”.
He told reporters that “there has been an increase in counter-terrorism investigations resulting directly from the protests,” and that events abroad “may represent a factor of radicalization.”
Christopher Wray, director of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), warned earlier this week that the Hamas attack on Israel that prompted Israel to bomb Gaza may have inspired the greatest terrorist threat to the United States since the emergence of ISIS about a year ago. a contract.
The anti-Semitism campaign said on Friday that London police did not enforce existing laws or did not enforce them “sufficiently strictly.” Police said they would be proactive and use more precise interventions to make arrests in crowds, including analyzing social media and using retrospective facial recognition technology. .
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2023-11-03 23:08:36
