Three charged over arson attack on Jewish charity ambulances in London

LONDON, April 4 — Three young men have been charged with arson over the vandalising of four ambulances run by a Jewish charity in London, British police said yesterday.

British citizens Hamza Iqbal, 20, and Rehan Khan, 19, will appear today at Westminster court alongside an unnamed 17-year-old UK-Pakistani dual-national over the March 23 attack.

The three were arrested at separate addresses in east London on Wednesday.

They were charged with arson, “being reckless as to whether life would be endangered,” the capital’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

Two men in their 40s were released on bail on March 25 over the attack in which the vehicles were set on fire.

The ambulances were parked next to a synagogue in the Golders Green area of northwest London, home to a significant Jewish population.

The vehicles were run by Hatzola, a volunteer organisation which provides free medical transportation and emergency response in north London.

Nobody was physically hurt, but the police said they are treating the incident as an antisemitic hate crime.

While it has not been declared a terror offence, counter-terrorism officers are leading the investigation.

A little-known Islamist group with possible links to Iran has claimed responsibility.

The Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI) group, meaning the Islamic Movement of the People of the Right Hand, has also claimed responsibility for similar attacks in Belgium and the Netherlands.

French counter-terror officials have likewise suggested the group may have been involved in a foiled bomb plot targeting a Bank of America branch in Paris on March 28.

Since the Golders Green fire, the police have promised beefed-up security around Jewish community sites across London. — AFP