The Israeli Foreign Ministry confirmed on Wednesday 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,” Jerusalem confirmed in a statement.
“All embassy staff are safe and no damage was caused to the embassy,” according to the Foreign Ministry.
The U.K.'s Daily Mail cited police sources as saying on Tuesday that the suspect was wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh during the intrusion. 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. “From my understanding he was on the walls and he got arrested by police.
“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,” they added.
Last week, Israel’s ambassador to South Korea was harassed by anti-Israel activists while dining at a restaurant in Seoul, with protesters accusing the diplomatic envoy of being complicit in “genocide.”
In video footage, one activist could be seen telling Ambassador Rafi Harpaz, “Science and technology should not be used as tools of genocide,” while another held a keffiyeh near Harpaz’s table.
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.
