The Metropolitan Police confirmed that a ninth individual has been taken into custody in connection with the devastating arson attack on Jewish community ambulances in North-West London.
According to the BBC, the 48-year-old suspect was apprehended in Leytonstone on Thursday on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson, marking a significant step in an ongoing investigation that has gripped the local community.
The core of the investigation centers on an incident in the early hours of March 23 in Golders Green, where four emergency vehicles belonging to the Hatzolah medical charity were set on fire.
The resulting explosions caused approximately £1 million in damages to the life-saving ambulances and the medical equipment inside. The fire also impacted nearby residential flats and a local synagogue.
Prosecutors have categorized the destruction of the Hatzolah fleet as a deliberate attack aimed at the Jewish community. This incident is part of a disturbing trend of violence in the British capital; authorities report that 31 people have been arrested since March for various offenses targeting Jewish, Israeli, and Iranian sites.
Investigators are currently exploring leads suggesting that several of these attacks may have been orchestrated on behalf of a group linked to the Iranian regime. This possibility stems from videos posted online claiming responsibility for the incidents, though police have not yet ruled out that these could be opportunistic claims by extremist elements.
The arrests come amid a backdrop of escalating violence, including the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green just last week. That assault prompted the United Kingdom to raise its national terrorism threat level from "substantial" to "severe" for the first time in over four years.
Beyond the Hatzolah case, the Counter Terrorism unit is investigating arson attempts at two North London synagogues and a Jewish-owned business. In a separate development on Thursday, a 19-year-old man was arrested in Portsmouth regarding an attempted arson at the Finchley Reform Synagogue. He has been released on bail until July.
Meanwhile, a man was arrested on Thursday in London after threatening Jewish passengers on a city bus with antisemitic slurs and violent threats, according to the Shomrim organization in London.
The incident occurred at approximately 3:45 p.m. on the Route 254 bus near Jessam Avenue and Clapton Road in Hackney. Shomrim volunteers reported that the suspect shouted it was a "shame Hitler didn’t kill you," and “You should all go to the gas chambers," while also threatening to kill Jewish children and claiming that he had a knife.
The Shomrim organization stated that the bus driver stopped the vehicle and activated the emergency alarm. Volunteers from the organization arrived at the scene and detained the suspect until officers from the Metropolitan Police arrested him.
(Arutz Sheva-Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)