A man who stabbed two women at a British Marks & Spencer store in 2020 in an anti-Israel terrorist attack was found guilty of attempted murder and wounding with intent by a Manchester court, the Jewish Chronicle reported.
Entering the department store in Burnley, England, Munawar Hussain, 58, went on what was described as an “anti-Israel rampage” by the British press, stabbing a manager in the neck near her jugular vein and stabbing a customer in the arm. Hussain attempted to then stab the customer in the back after she fell to the ground, but his kitchen knife’s blade snapped off after it became lodged in the strap of the woman’s purse.
He committed the December 2020 terror attack over a belief that the company allegedly funded the “persecution” of Palestinian Arabs by Israel, the prosecution told the jury during the trial.
Hussain fled after committing the stabbings but was held down by a store security guard and members of the public outside the store. He was apprehended by police nearby.
The manager’s injuries included a collapsed lung and nerve damage. She described to police that the man who stabbed her was wearing a covid mask but his eyes “looked pure evil,” The Daily Mail reported.
Hussein testified in court that he had committed the attack in order for “Allah not be upset with me or angry with me and he will be happy with me,” according to the Chronicle.
He said that as inspiration he looked to terrorist Usman Khan, who committed a stabbing attack on the London Bridge in 2019 in which two people were injured. He also said he wanted to be martyred.
Judge Nicholas Dean stated after the verdict was returned by the jury: “An offence arising out of claims that Israel was causing atrocities against Muslims, and an attack of retribution for that, at face value, is precisely the definition of a terrorist offence.”