Terror attacks on Israel ‘seen as cause for celebration’ government’s extremism adviser warns

Robin Simcox, the commissioner for countering extremism, will say that government must have confidence ‘taking on extreme ideologies’

Terror attacks on Israel are seen as more “justifiable” than other countries, and even a “cause for celebration” a government expert is set to warn.

The Home Office’s independent adviser on extremism Robin Simcox is also concerned Hamas and Iranian networks operating in the UK could carry out or incite acts of violence on Britain’s streets.

In a speech to the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) this afternoon, Mr Simcox will say that the government must have the confidence and will to commit to a long-term strategy for taking on extreme ideologies.

His address comes as prime minister Rishi Sunak begins a two-day trip to the Middle East amid fears the Israel-Hamas conflict may spread across the region.

Hamas’s terror attack on Israel on 7 October, in which an estimated 1,400 people were killed and dozens taken captive, took the country’s sophisticated security forces by surprise.

Last week, home secretary Suella Braverman ordered police to step up scrutiny of displays of Palestinian support.

Hamas is banned in the UK, and supporting it could lead to jail sentences of up to 14 years.

But Mr Simcox will voice his concern “that support for Hamas does not carry the stigma that support for other terrorist groups does.

He will say that “too often, support for Palestinian rights has translated into rhetoric supportive of Hamas” and that “too many in positions of prominence have praised them or their leadership or sought to rationalise or excuse their acts of terror.”

Robin Simcox will warn that Hamas and Iran could attempt to carry out or incite acts of violence in the UK (Sky News)

Mr Simcox will also outline several other key concerns, including:

• A push to normalise the Taliban’s governance of Afghanistan;
• Freedom of expression being threatened by those striving to impose a de facto blasphemy code around criticism of religious prophets;
• The ongoing challenge posed by Islamist ideology;
• The extreme right wing’s attempt to bolster its support by exploiting issues of mainstream concern; and
• Increased concern over how the extreme left wing’s rhetoric and tactics.

The home secretary is to give fresh powers to the Commission for Countering Extremism to oversee standards and compliance around the Prevent programme.

There has been a surge in anti-semitic incidents across the UK since Hamas’s attack, which plunged the region into crisis and sparked fears of a wider war across the Middle East.

The Community Security Trust (CST), which represents British Jews on issues of racism and policing, said it had recorded 320 antisemitic incidents between 7 and 16 October - a sevenfold increase on the same period last year.

The incidents included six assaults, three instances of damage to Jewish property, 66 related to abusive behaviour and 22 took place online.

Security has also been stepped up at synagogues and schools amid fears children could be targetted on the way to and from lessons. Some schools have told pupil not to wear their uniforms to avoid being identified.

A woman was arrested last Thursday on suspicion of supporting a terrorist organisation following a protest in Brighton the previous weekend.

The suspect, 22, was arrested under Section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000. Section 12 makes it an offence to invite support for an organisation that has been proscribed terrorist by the government.

Responding to the rise in antisemitism, Mr Sunak announced £3 million of extra funding for the CST to help the organisation protect schools, synagogues and other Jewish community buildings.

Rishi Sunak arrives in Tel Aviv for talks with other leaders (No 10 / X)

Mr Sunak said the UK “must and will” stand in solidarity with Israel as he condemned the third “deadliest terror attack” in the world since 1970.

Both he and Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, have repeatedly supported Israel’s right to defend itself while urging the country’s army to avoid harming civilians in its response to Hamas’s brutal attack.

The PM touched down in Israel last night for talks with leaders in the Middle East and is expected to call for any spread in the violence in the Israeli-Hamas war to be avoided.

Mr Sunak will hold talks with his counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu and president Isaac Herzog as he starts a two-day trip expected to take in other capitals in the region.

He will urge Middle East leaders to “avoid further dangerous escalation”, saying that “too many lives have been lost” already since Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel killed more than 1,400 people.

Protests have broken out in cities across the Middle East amid Israel’s continued bombing of the Gaza strip and intensified following a blast at a hospital in Gaza city which hundreds were said to have been killed and injured.

Both Israel and Hamas have denied responsibility for the explosion. The Israel Defence Forces has published a dossier of evidence which it says proves it was not responsible.

Following the blast, Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement called for a “day of rage” which was followed by angry protests in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan, Libya, Yemen, Tunisia, Turkey, Morocco and Iran.

“Death to America! Death to Israel!” hundreds of Hezbollah supporters chanted at a rally in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Wednesday.