SECURITY CHIEFS FEAR RISE IN TERROR ATTACKS IN UK

Middle East crisis could ‘galvanise' extremists to target British Jews

- Michael Knowles and Paul Jeeves

WAR in the Middle East could lead to terror attacks here, security chiefs warn.

Lone extremists may be "galvanised" into committing atrocities against British Jews as conflict between Israel and Iran intensifies.

The Community SecurityTrust, a charity that aims to keep Jewish people safe, is mounting its biggest security operation around the first anniversary of the October 7 Hamas terror attack in Israel. It is also the hugely important and symbolic time of Rosh Hashanah - the Jewish New Year, which ends tomorrow. Research reveals that antisemitic incidents in the UK have trebled during the past year.

Dave Rich, the CST's head of policy, said: "We've seen this pattern before in previous years where Israel is at war and we get these big spikes in antisemitism. But previously, those conflicts have only lasted a couple of weeks or maybe a month.

"I think we've reached the point where we say this isn't a temporary blip any more. This is where we are. After a year of it, people have to just adjust to this new reality."

The security services and the Met Police are on red alert amid fears that Tehran's missile blitz, and Tel Aviv's likely response, may spark a domestic security threat.

Meanwhile Israel said its intelligence agency Mossad has "identified Iranian attempts to target Jewish communities in the United States and Europe". Officials added: "Messages have been conveyed to the relevant countries and embassies, which have raised their alert levels to the highest level."

Met Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said: "Nobody should feel unsafe or in fear going about their lives in this city, certainly not on the basis of their race or religion.

"Since October last year we have seen a really concerning rise in hate crime with both antisemitic and Islamophobic offences.