‘Weakness in the face of terrorism only brings more terrorism’: Netanyahu on Manchester synagogue terror attack

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday (local time) condemned the Manchester synagogue terror attack, stating “weakness in the face of terrorism only brings more terrorism.”

Netanyahu paid his condolences to the victims and wished for the speedy recovery of the injured. He said that terrorism can only be defeated by strength and unity.

“Israel grieves with the Jewish community in the UK after the barbaric terror attack in Manchester. Our hearts are with the families of the murdered, and we pray for the swift recovery of the wounded. As I warned at the UN: Weakness in the face of terrorism only brings more terrorism. Only strength and unity can defeat it,” Netanyahu wrote on ‘X’.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday (local time) condemned the Manchester synagogue terror attack, promising security to every Jew staying in the country.

He said that “anti-semitism” is a hatred that is rising in the country, and that it should be defeated.

“This was a vile terrorist attack that attacked Jews, because they are Jews. Anti-semitism is a hatred that is rising, once again. Britain must defeat it, once again. To every Jewish person in this country: I promise that I will do everything in my power to guarantee you the security you deserve,” Keir Starmer wrote on X.

The attack took place in the Crumpsall area of Manchester, where a car was driven into members of the public and a man was stabbed. At least two people were killed, and three others remain in serious condition. Police confirmed that the suspected attacker was shot by armed officers and is believed to be dead.

Worshippers who were inside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue at the time were evacuated as emergency services responded to the scene.

Following the attack, Greater Manchester Police declared PLATO, a national code used when armed officers are deployed across the force in response to an ongoing attack, according to CNN.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced “additional police assets” will be deployed at synagogues across the country.

“The fact that this has taken place on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, makes it all the more horrific,” the Prime Minister said in a post on X. “My thoughts are with the loved ones of all those affected.”

According to the UK news media, Starmer will cut short his trip to Copenhagen, where he was attending a security meeting of European leaders, to return to the UK and chair a session of the government’s Cobra committee – a cross-departmental group convened during national emergencies. (ANI)