“Britain’s Jews Are Under Threat”: Police Chief’s Warning After Massacre Plotters Jailed

British Jews are under threat, according to the police chief who helped foil an Islamic State-inspired massacre that, if carried out, would have been “one of the worst atrocities” the world had seen. The Telegraph has the story.

Sir Stephen Watson, the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, said that had the plan been successful, it would have been “one of the worst atrocities” the world had seen.

Walid Saadaoui, from Wigan, and Amar Hussein, from Bolton, planned to replicate the 2015 Paris terror attacks by targeting a Jewish community in the North West.

They bought assault rifles, handguns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition in preparation for a suicide gun attack in which they wanted to “kill as many members of the Jewish community as they could” and hoped to become “martyrs” in revenge for Israel’s actions in Gaza.

Saadaoui, 38, scouted synagogues, Jewish schools and a Kosher supermarket and also considered carrying out an attack during protests against antisemitism.

When Hussein was questioned by detectives following his arrest, he openly admitted being a terrorist supporter.

Asked if he was a supporter of Islamic State, he told detectives: “Do you want a true answer? Yes.”

He told detectives he backed the group because “they are Muslims. They make Sharia.”

Both men were found guilty at Preston Crown Court of preparing acts of terrorism, with their main targets being the Jewish community in England’s North West, police and the military.

The pair were jailed for life on Friday, with Saadaoui handed a minimum term of 37 years and Hussein, 52, sentenced to a minimum of 26 years.

Saadaoui’s brother Bilel, 37, of Hindley, Wigan, was found guilty of failing to disclose information about the terror plan. He was sentenced to six years in jail with an extended licence period of 12 months.

Sir Stephen, whose force dealt with the Manchester synagogue attack in October, said society had difficult questions to answer about how Jewish people in Britain were forced to live today.

He said: “There was the avoidance of something which I genuinely believe would have been truly awful and would have ranked right up there with the worst of the atrocities that we have seen across the world.

“We are seeing the manifestation of hatred moving beyond our shores globally and this is a threat to all of us. It is a threat to our Jewish communities and, if our Jewish communities are under threat, we are all under threat.

“And we all owe to our Jewish friends and neighbours a steadfast duty to stand with them in all circumstances, and that is certainly what we do as part of Greater Manchester Police, the counter-terrorism network and beyond.”

Worth reading in full.