The Metropolitan Police will review whether pro-Palestine marches can proceed following the Golders Green attack, as the force's commissioner clashed with Green Party leader Zack Polanski. Police tasered and arrested a 45-year-old man after a double stabbing that left two Jewish men injured.
Terror Threat Level Raised to Severe
The Met stated that police will assess events nationwide after the UK terrorism threat level was raised to 'severe' following the stabbings. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, facing calls to ban pro-Palestine marches, backed the prosecution of individuals chanting 'globalise the intifada' at such events.
The Stop the War Coalition plans a major demonstration in London on May 16 for Nakba Day, marking the 1948 displacement of Palestinians. The group dismissed attempts to link recent attacks with marches as 'false'.
Police Review of Upcoming Events
Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, head of Counter Terrorism Policing, said: 'As part of our review into the change in the threat level, policing will be reviewing all events across the country.'
In a rare intervention on Thursday, Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley criticised Mr Polanski for retweeting an X post accusing officers of 'repeatedly and violently kicking a mentally ill man in the head' while he was incapacitated after being tasered. Sir Mark Rowley said he was 'disappointed', adding that the post was 'inaccurate and misinformed'.
'Your decision to criticise these officers, using your public profile and reach will have a chilling effect,' he added. A Green Party spokesperson said Mr Polanski 'knows it was a very difficult situation for the authorities'.
Details of the Attack and Suspect
Scotland Yard declined to comment on a Channel 4 News report that the suspect, named as Essa Suleiman, left a psychiatric hospital run by South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust in recent days. He was born in Somalia and came to the UK legally as a child in the 1990s, and was reported to Prevent, the Government's anti-extremism programme, in 2020, but the case was closed the same year.
Police tasered and arrested the 45-year-old man after the double stabbing, which saw two Jewish men – Shloime Rand, 34, and Moshe Ben Baila, 76, locally named as Moshe Shine – taken to hospital. Mr Rand told the BBC it was a 'miracle' he survived, adding: 'I feel like God's given me back my life.'
He has since been discharged and is recovering at home after receiving stitches, according to Rabbi Levi Schapiro from the Jewish Community Council, who visited both victims. Mr Shine remains in hospital in a stable condition.
Threat Level Assessment
The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre raised the threat level to 'severe' on Thursday, meaning a terror attack is 'highly likely'. The Home Office said the decision is not solely a result of the Golders Green attack, adding that the threat level in the UK has been 'rising for some time'.
