Man convicted of planning terrorist attack at Israeli Embassy

A man has been convicted of planning a terrorist attack at the Embassy of Israel in London after being stopped by armed officers as he attempted to climb over the embassy gates armed with two knives, Counter Terrorism Policing London has announced.

Abdullah Sabah Albadri, aged 34 and of no fixed abode, attempted to gain entry to the diplomatic premises in Kensington on 28 April last year. Armed officers from the Metropolitan Police’s Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command intervened immediately and prevented him from breaching the security perimeter. He was arrested without anyone being seriously injured.

Commander Helen Flanagan, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said Albadri “wanted to carry out a terrorist attack at the Embassy, but thanks to the courageous and swift actions of officers on duty, they prevented him from breaching the security perimeter and stopped what could have been a deadly incident.” She praised the officers’ “incredible bravery and professionalism” in responding within seconds to a man armed with knives and intent on carrying out a terrorist attack.

Following his arrest, an investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing detectives established that Albadri wanted to attack the Israeli Embassy as an act of revenge against the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza. Body-worn footage from his arrest showed him telling officers he had “weapons” and wanted to “make a crime” inside the Embassy. Two knives with red-and-white handles were found in his pockets. He also had a martyrdom note on him explaining that he intended to die, in his words, “for the glory of God.”

Analysis of Albadri’s phone revealed he had researched the embassy’s location in the days before the attack. CCTV footage showed him walking from Kilburn in north-west London to the embassy in Kensington, wearing a red-and-white scarf wrapped around his head and mouth and sunglasses. Officers also found he had searched several Arabic terms related to suicide and martyrdom during the five days leading up to his arrest, contrasting sharply with his previous search history which had focused on securing asylum status after entering the UK on a small boat from France on 12 April 2025.

Following a two-week trial at the Old Bailey, Albadri was convicted of one count of preparation of terrorist acts contrary to section 5(1)(a) of the Terrorism Act 2006 and two counts of possession of a pointed or bladed article. He will be sentenced at a later date.