Mayor of London sought counter-terrorism advice from Israel

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has sought advice from Israel about how to combat the kind of urban terrorism seen recently in the Manchester and London Bridge attacks.

After addressing more than 1,000 guests at Jewish Care’s annual dinner, Khan revealed that officials from his office and Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, the head of national counter-terrorism policing, have been in touch with officers in Israel.

“My office has been in contact not only with Tel Aviv but other places as well,” he told Jewish News. The mayor pointed out that 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.”

He said that British police officers visit Israel and are in regular touch with their contacts there. “Just like the terrorists evolve, we have to find new ways to protect ourselves,” he added.

Khan highlights a growing trend around the globe where Israel’s counter-terrorism expertise is in high demand. What has been called Israel’s “Matrix of Control” is in demand by governments and police forces around the world, earning the occupation state huge amounts of money. “Labels such as ‘Combat proven’, ‘Tested in Gaza’ and ‘Approved by the Israel Defence Forces’ on Israeli or foreign products greatly improves their marketability,” wrote Jeff Halper in 2015.

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Khan also spoke about hate crimes, which have increased over the past two years. Data collected after the London Bridge terror attack showed the highest daily level of Islamophobic incidents so far this year. In fact, the figures are higher than recorded levels following the Paris attacks in November 2015 and the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby in May 2013.

“This is absolutely a very big concern for me,” insisted Khan. “One thing I have said is that Londoners must report all and every attack in which they are involved. And not only that, if they witness any hate crime, if you see it, you must report it.”

MEMO contacted the mayor’s office for a comment on relations between senior Metropolitan Police officers and the Israeli security services however neither could provide comment at this time.