News: Europe

(National-UAE) A French court on Friday ordered the release of pro-Palestinian Lebanese militant Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, jailed for 40 years after being convicted over the killing of two foreign diplomats, prosecutors said. The court said Abdallah, first detained in 1984 and convicted […]

Daniel Khalife misspelt ‘secret’ on publicly available document to please Iranian spy handler, court told Khalife, the 23-year-old who escaped from Wandsworth prison last year, is accused of passing secrets to the Iranians for more than two years.

November 15, 2024 Duncan Gardham

(Sky News) A man accused of spying for Iran allegedly added a misspelling of the word “secret” to a publicly available document in an attempt to please his Iranian handler. Daniel Khalife, who has admitted escaping from Wandsworth prison, wrote “secert” instead […]

Dutch coalition survives (for now) after chaos fueled by fuming Geert Wilders The Netherlands’ most right-wing government ever was rocked by the fallout from violent clashes between locals and Israeli football fans.

November 15, 2024 Giselle Ruhiyyih Ewing and Seb Starcevic

(Politico) The Dutch government survived crisis talks Friday night triggered by football violence and the resignation of a minister over alleged racist remarks by other Cabinet members. Though speculation swirled that the entire government would collapse, only Nora Achahbar — a state […]

Cabinet member quits over colleagues’ ‘racist’ positions after Amsterdam riots

(NL Times) State Secretary Nora Achahbar will tender her resignation to Prime Minister Dick Schoof later on Friday due to dissatisfaction over how the Cabinet handled the riots in Amsterdam following last week’s Europa League match between Ajax and Israeli club Maccabi […]

Street wardens to be banned from wearing religious symbols

(Dutch News) Council street wardens, or BOAs, should have “a neutral image” and will not be allowed to wear any religious symbols from next year, justice minister David van Weel has said in a briefing to MPs. The measure will “strengthen public […]

‘Let’s give Donald Trump the benefit of the doubt,’ Sadiq Khan tells LBC after war of words with president-elect

November 15, 2024 Kit Heren

(LBC) Sadiq Khan has vowed to give Donald Trump “the benefit of the doubt,” despite previous criticisms stretching back to the president-elect’s first term in the White House. The London mayor told LBC’s James O’Brien that he wanted to “put out the […]

Officer arrested on suspicion of terror offence bailed

(BBC) A police officer arrested on suspicion of a terrorism offence has been released on bail pending further enquiries. The Gloucestershire police officer was arrested on Tuesday by Counter Terrorism Policing South West, and he has been suspended from all duties by […]

German trial opens over alleged Islamist Sweden attack plot Two men with Afghan citizenship are accused of plotting an attack near the Swedish parliament in Stockholm. They hatched the plot amid uproar in parts of the Muslim world over two protests involving Quran burning.

(Deutsche Welle) A trial opens in Jena in the eastern German state of Thuringia on Friday against two men with Afghan citizenship accused of plotting a terrorist attack near the Swedish parliament in Stockholm. What are the pair accused of? One of the […]

Finns Party MPs call for burka ban in public places Although supportive of the proposal, Interior Minister Mari Rantanen (Finns) told Yle it is unlikely to pass into law during this government's term in office.

(Yle) Finland’s interior minister, Mari Rantanen (Finns), has confirmed to Yle that she supports a proposal put forward by 14 of her party colleagues earlier this week calling for a ban on face coverings in public places. The proposal would effectively mean […]

Anti-Semitism passport plan is ‘discriminatory and polarising’

(Dutch News) The Dutch right-wing government’s move to investigate if people convicted of anti-Semitism can be regarded as terrorists and stripped of their Dutch nationality will discriminate against dual passport holders and increase polarisation, critics have said. The far-right PVV, the pro-countryside […]

Dutch gov’t promises to investigate many far-reaching measures against anti-Semitism

(NL Times) The Dutch government is committed to fighting anti-Semitic violence with far-reaching measures, Prime Minister Dick Schoof said in a parliamentary debate on violence in Amsterdam last week. The prime minister mainly promised to investigate various measures put forward by parliamentarians, […]

Muslims in Amsterdam reject govt rhetoric after violence

November 14, 2024 Akshata Kapoor

(AFP) Arranging fruit crates in a market on the western edge of Amsterdam on Thursday, Mohamed Errakil said the Dutch government’s rhetoric a week after the city was shaken by anti-Israeli attacks could encourage discrimination. “We’re called foreigners, you’re a Moroccan, you’re […]

London mayor says Trump attacks due to his ethnicity and religion

(AFP) London Mayor Sadiq Khan has accused Donald Trump of repeatedly criticising him because of his “ethnicity” and Muslim faith, in comments likely to renew his long-running feud with the US president-elect. The pair became embroiled in an extraordinary war of words […]

281 arrested at banned protest on Amsterdam[‘s] Dam Square; footage of police brutality

(NL Times) The police arrested 281 people at a banned Palestine-support protest on Dam Square in Amsterdam on Wednesday evening. Videos are circulating on social media showing riot police officers shouting at released protesters and beating them with batons. The police are […]

Norway lowers terror threat level as Iran threat wanes

(AFP) Norway’s intelligence agency lowered its terror threat level from “high” to “moderate” on Thursday, saying the threat posed by Iran against Jewish and Israeli targets had waned. The decision brings the threat level down to three on a scale of five, […]

Coalition MPs back stripping anti-Semites of Dutch nationality

November 13, 2024 Unlisted Author

(Dutch News) Stripping dual nationals of their Dutch passports if they are found guilty of anti-Semitism has been backed by the right-wing Dutch coalition, in the wake of last week’s trouble in Amsterdam. The far-right PVV, the pro-countryside BBB and the right-wing […]

All parties denounce anti-Semitism, Amsterdam riots; Wilders blames Muslims, Moroccans

November 13, 2024 Unlisted Author

(NL Times) There was widespread condemnation of anti-Semitism in the parliamentary debate on the Amsterdam riots on Wednesday. Every party leader who had a chance to speak before the break explicitly condemned it. PVV leader Geert Wilders explicitly blamed the riots on […]

Starmer rebukes pro-Gaza MP at PMQs over failure to mention 7 October massacre Prime minister says Ayoub Khan would be wise to start a question about 'genocide' with reference to what happened in October last year

November 13, 2024 Lee Harpin

(Jewish News) Keir Starmer has criticised an MP elected on a pro-Gaza ticket for failing to reference either Hamas or the October 7 terror attack after he quizzed him in the Commons. During PMQs on Wednesday Ayoub Khan, the independent MP for […]

Hamas tied to Amsterdam pogrom, Israeli officials say A Dutch Palestinian group is identified as the primary organization behind the coordinated attack on sports fans, among others associated with PFLP.

November 13, 2024 Nissan Shtrauchler and Neta Bar

(Israel Hayom) Israeli intelligence officials have identified Dutch organizations with Hamas ties as primary instigators of last week’s disturbances in Amsterdam, according to a report released Wednesday by Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs. The report details how several local organizations allegedly utilized […]

TikTok, X and Instagram ‘exposed to terrorist content’

November 13, 2024 Brian O'Donovan

(RTÉ) Media regulator Coimisiún na Meán has found that TikTok, X and Instagram are “exposed to terrorist content.” The organisation has issued the decision following the notification of removal orders to these platforms from EU authorities. The companies must now take specific […]

French headteacher describes spiral of events that led to teacher’s beheading

November 13, 2024 Paul Kirby

(BBC) The former headteacher of a French school has revealed the shocking sequence of events that led to the beheading of Samuel Paty by a Chechen refugee. Audrey F told the court in Paris how she had tried to stop a row […]

Daniel Khalife entered ‘new phase’ of spying when he was on exercise in the US, court hears Daniel Khalife is accused of spending two years passing secrets to the Iranians while serving with the Royal Corps of Signals, but denies the charges.

November 13, 2024 Duncan Gardham

(Sky News) Daniel Khalife, the former soldier accused of spying for Iran, entered a “new phase” of his relationship with his handlers during a series of calls from a base in the US, a court has heard. Khalife told his trial his […]

Riot warning in Amsterdam-Oost as banned pro-Palestinian protest forms on Dam Square

November 13, 2024 Unlisted Author

(NL Times) A multicultural association based in Amsterdam-Oost warned that it learned of the possibility that people might attempt to riot in the city’s eastern district. The Assadaaka Community group issued the appeal against violence on Wednesday evening, as pro-Palestinian activists also […]

Serving police officer arrested in Gloucester on suspicion of supporting Hamas A constable in his 30s was arrested. Specialist officers are carrying out searches as part of the investigation.

(Sky News) A serving Gloucestershire police officer has been arrested on suspicion of a terrorism offence. A constable in his 30s was arrested by counter-terror police on Tuesday in Gloucester under the Terrorism Act on suspicion of providing support for a proscribed […]

Teen wanted to teach extremist beliefs, court told

(BBC) A teenager gained a place at an Islamic Sunday school in order to teach her “extremist” beliefs to young children, a court has heard. Dzhamilya Timaeva, 19, from Windsor, saw it as a “duty” of her Islamic faith to “wage war […]

Muslims attack Jewish boy in Belgian Jewish neighborhood Pro-Palestinian activists publish footage of attack on Ultra-Orthodox boy on social media in Antwerp; Jewish Belgian MP Michael Freilich demands police reinforcement and deployment of soldiers in the Jewish neighborhoods

November 12, 2024 Itamar Eichner

(Ynet) Against the background of the attack on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans in Amsterdam after the game against Ajax on Thursday, pro-Palestinian Hamas supporters shared videos of an attack on an Ultra-Orthodox boy from two weeks ago. The video was shared on […]

Report says Tower Hamlets council slow to act over Palestine flag concerns Damning government inspectors' report says it is 'not clear' east London council, led by mayor Lutfur Rahman, has managed community tensions over Gaza effectively

November 12, 2024 Lee Harpin

(Jewish News) The government is set to appoint “ministerial envoys” to oversee Tower Hamlets Council after inspectors found a “toxic” political environment which included a failure to manage tensions caused by the on-going conflict in Gaza. Decisions now made by the east London […]

Daniel Khalife ‘endangered Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’ with fake intelligence Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was detained in Iran in 2016 after a holiday visit to Tehran with her daughter, and was only able to return to the UK after six years in prison.

(Sky News) A former soldier could have endangered the life of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe by sending a fake intelligence document to Iran, a court has been told. Daniel Khalife, 23, pleaded guilty to escaping from prison under a food catering truck and going […]

German 17-year-old detained over alleged Islamist attack plot