A British police officer in southwestern England was arrested on November 12th on suspicion of online activity linked to supporting Hamas.
In the latest disturbing sign of Islamist infiltration of the British public sector, a serving police officer in the UK has just been arrested on suspicion of supporting Hamas. @CourageMedia___https://t.co/A18Bnwylxm pic.twitter.com/OGKzf1fSu0
— Ayaan Hirsi Ali (@Ayaan) November 14, 2024
The officer, who was not named but was said to be in his 30s, was apprehended by counter-terrorism policing South West officers and detained over his suspected support for Hamas that “relates to activity online.”
Gloucestershire Police Assistant Chief Constable Arman Mathieson said two properties and a vehicle were searched as part of the investigation.
“The suspected support relates to activity online, and the searches taking place are predominately to locate digital devices for analysis,” Mathieson said.
Not surprised
— hello (@DaleForeman16) November 13, 2024
“The arrest of a serving officer on suspicion of such a serious offense will no doubt cause our communities concern, as it does everyone who works for Gloucestershire Police,” Mathieson told the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
“The arrest has been made to allow for a prompt and effective investigation to take place, and we must not draw any conclusions at this stage,” Mathieson added.
Both the military and political wings of Hamas, also known by its full name Harakat al-Muqawamah al-Islamiyyah, have been proscribed by the British government as a terrorist organization since 2021. Providing support to a terrorist group such as Hamas violates Section 12 of the country’s Terrorism Act of 2000.
After Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 last year and the war that followed, British officials are worried that anti-Israeli and pro-Palestinian rallies in the UK may have promoted terrorism, urging that support for terrorist groups like Hamas should be prosecuted under the full extent of the law.
"People need to know if you glorify that, you risk committing a really serious terrorism offense," Jonathan Hall KC, the British government’s independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, said.
Nothing wrong with supporting the Palestinians right to defend themselves and their land.
Lock up the Jews who went to Gaza to rape, torture and murder rings around themselves. They're psychopaths and a danger to society.— Comrade Dog (@Supreme_CCCP) November 13, 2024
Suella Braverman, who was then the UK’s Home Secretary, said "the full force of the law" must be used against support for Hamas.
Members of the Conservative Party urged London’s Metropolitan Police to increase patrols, claiming people were "glorifying the terrorist activities of Hamas,”, especially in the wake of incidents such as last April, where a man in central London was arrested and found guilty of wearing a headband in support of Hamas.
