London Mayor Khan Looks to Israel for Counter-Terrorism Advice

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Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Few countries in the world have as much experience as Israel when it comes to countering terrorist attacks, a fact acknowledged by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan. The capital’s leader has revealed he sought advice from Israel on how to counter urban terrorism of the kind that has blighted Manchester and London in recent months.

In an interview published by Jewish News,  Mr. Khan said that both his office and Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Mark Rowley, the head of national counter-terrorism policing, have been in touch with officials in the Jewish state.

 “My office has been in contact with not only Tel Aviv but other places as well,” he said.

Mr. Khan acknowledged both he and his colleagues had learned “lots of things, things like putting in place the barriers we have done in London. There are other things and we are using the advice we receive.

“Just like the terrorists evolve, we have to find new ways to protect ourselves,” he added before revealing police visit Israel and are in regular touch with their contacts.

As Breitbart Jerusalem has reported, terrorist attacks utilizing jihadist tactics tested by Palestinian terrorists in Israel are becoming increasingly common around the world.

In these incidents, the assailants mimic the Palestinian jihadist playbook of vehicular terrorism. For several years now, Palestinian terrorists have deployed the same deadly tactic of plowing vehicles into pedestrians and then attempting to continue their assaults on foot with stabbings or shootings.

In an earlier address to 1,000 guests at Jewish Care’s annual dinner, Mr. Khan also pledged to tackle the rise in anti-Semitism in London, saying it was “unacceptable in London in 2017 and I’m determined to stamp it out”. He said he would give the police the resources to fight hate crime, which would include specialist officers to deal with online hate crime.

“I promise you I will not rest until we win this battle,” he said.

As for Labour’s struggle to contain anti-Semitism in its own ranks, he told attendees that he would use “all his influence” to try to stem the loss of trust between the Jewish community and the Labour party.

Follow Simon Kent on Twitter: or e-mail to: skent@breitbart.com

 

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