Police patrols have been stepped up in London after videos emerged of people appearing to celebrate the attack on Israel, which a Government minister said was “glorifying the terrorist activities of Hamas”.
Scotland Yard was urged to intervene by immigration minister Robert Jenrick, as he shared a video posted on social media by Countdown presenter Rachel Riley after Hamas launched its biggest attack in years on Israel.
On Saturday evening, Riley posted on social media: “I just passed two cars in West London driving with Palestinian flags flying from each window, bouncing up and down in their cars, seemingly celebrating like they were having a party. Make no mistake, this is a dangerous and terrifying time for all Jews around the world.”
She later posted a video which showed people waving Palestinian flags, beeping car horns and clapping and said: “Acton, half an hour ago. Popped into a cafe for some baklava with the kids and our Ukrainian friends. People have been brutally murdered, kidnapped and there are people in London dancing.
“Just had a reassuring call with the police, if anyone is scared, please call them.” She added on the social media site: “Most people understand this is an abomination. No-one should cheer war and death.” Prominent barrister Charlotte Proudman also posted a video of a car with Palestinian flags sounding its horn.
She wrote: “Celebrating the murders and kidnapping of Israelis is quite possibly the most heinous act of public hate I have seen on the streets of London.” Mr Jenrick shared Riley’s post on Twitter, and said: “These disgusting people are glorifying the terrorist activities of Hamas, a proscribed organisation.
“There is no place for this in the UK. I trust @metpoliceuk will be taking this seriously.” In a statement, Scotland Yard said: “We are aware of a number of incidents, including those that have been shared on social media, in relation to the ongoing conflict in Israel and the border with Gaza.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia accused Israel of provoking Palestinian hostility after a lethal Hamas attack from Gaza that claimed scores of Israeli lives.
“The kingdom calls for an immediate halt to the escalation between the two sides, the protection of civilians, and restraint,” the Saudi Foreign Ministry said Saturday, as Israeli Defense Forces engage in “gun battles” with Hamas terrorists.
“The Kingdom recalls its repeated warnings of the dangers of the explosion of the situations as a result of the continued occupations, the deprivation of the Palestinian people of their legitimate rights, and the repeating of systematic provocation against its sanctities.”
That statement stirred frustration and disappointment in American observers of the Saudi-Israeli relationship. United States officials have nurtured in recent months closed-door negotiations over a potential normalization of diplomatic relations between the Gulf Arab monarchy and the Jewish democracy. That diplomatic effort has been galvanized by a shared sense of threats from Iran, whose leaders celebrated the carnage on Saturday.
“We will stand by the Palestinian fighters until the liberation of Palestine and Al-Quds,” a military adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Saturday, according to Fars News. “Our brave and hard-working Palestinian people, those freeing the world, the Palestinian resistance, in these historical moments are engaged in a heroic fight for Al-Aqsa Mosque, our sacred sites, and our prisoners.”
IDF officials claimed “to have killed hundreds of Palestinian terrorists in southern Israel,” according to the Times of Israel, as Israeli officials and society grappled with the ramifications of an attack that began with “more than 5,000 rockets” fired in a 20-minute period, according to Hamas boasts.
“Citizens of Israel, we are at war,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday. “I am initiating an extensive mobilization of the reserves to fight back on a scale and intensity that the enemy has so far not experienced. The enemy will pay an unprecedented price.”
Israeli opposition leaders echoed that assessment and offered to set aside the bitter political disputes that have convulsed Israeli civil society in recent months in favor of a unity government to confront a severe crisis.
